Media biased on missing Black boys, too
Diasia Ellerbee/NNPA Special Correspondent
Issue date: 5/10/09 Section: Cover
"So ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, FOX News Why don't you talk about me?! Don't you care where I might be?! Am I the wrong color to have my story on TV?!"
This excerpt from the poem, "Black Woman Missing" by George L. Cook III, represents the lack of national media focus on missing Black women - but Black males get even less.
According to Connie Marstiller of the National Crime Information Center, there were 614,925 people missing in 2008 under the age of 18. About 16 percent were Black men.
During that same year, there were 163,239 people missing over the age of 18, according to Marstiller. Approximately 14 percent, represent missing Black males over the age 18.
African-American men and boys such as William Van Croft IV,17, Wallace Richards, 23, Dennis Palmer, 44, and Adji Desir, 6, are currently missing and have not yet received the national media attention as their counterparts like Laci Peterson, Elizabeth Smart, or Haleigh Cummings; missing White women usually get more attention than men of all races.
Blackandmissing.blogspot.com is a blog dedicated to informing the public about missing Black children - male and female - that may or may not have been heard about in the media.
According to the blog, Desir, missing since January 10, from Immokalee, Fla., has the mental capacity of a two-year-old and is developmentally disabled.
If you put his name in Yahoo's search engine, it produces 478,000 results. His counterpart, Cummings, however, produces 4,440,000 results. Both children went missing around the same time and in the same state. Although conditions of their disappearances are different, does race or gender play a factor in the national media attention that they receive?
Clearly, yes, said Derrica Wilson, president and CEO of Black & Missing Foundation, Inc., a Web site that provides exposure and educational training for the missing persons loved ones.
Wilson believes that when it comes to African-American boys, people are more likely to associate their disappearance as being a runaway. Wilson mentions that the Black men on her Web site never receive national attention and are never seen on television.
This excerpt from the poem, "Black Woman Missing" by George L. Cook III, represents the lack of national media focus on missing Black women - but Black males get even less.
According to Connie Marstiller of the National Crime Information Center, there were 614,925 people missing in 2008 under the age of 18. About 16 percent were Black men.
During that same year, there were 163,239 people missing over the age of 18, according to Marstiller. Approximately 14 percent, represent missing Black males over the age 18.
African-American men and boys such as William Van Croft IV,17, Wallace Richards, 23, Dennis Palmer, 44, and Adji Desir, 6, are currently missing and have not yet received the national media attention as their counterparts like Laci Peterson, Elizabeth Smart, or Haleigh Cummings; missing White women usually get more attention than men of all races.
Blackandmissing.blogspot.com is a blog dedicated to informing the public about missing Black children - male and female - that may or may not have been heard about in the media.
According to the blog, Desir, missing since January 10, from Immokalee, Fla., has the mental capacity of a two-year-old and is developmentally disabled.
If you put his name in Yahoo's search engine, it produces 478,000 results. His counterpart, Cummings, however, produces 4,440,000 results. Both children went missing around the same time and in the same state. Although conditions of their disappearances are different, does race or gender play a factor in the national media attention that they receive?
Clearly, yes, said Derrica Wilson, president and CEO of Black & Missing Foundation, Inc., a Web site that provides exposure and educational training for the missing persons loved ones.
Wilson believes that when it comes to African-American boys, people are more likely to associate their disappearance as being a runaway. Wilson mentions that the Black men on her Web site never receive national attention and are never seen on television.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Q
posted 5/13/09 @ 10:30 AM EST
Why aren't the black television channels (i.e., BET, TVONe) showing the minorities who are missing? I feel that that instead of showing buffoonery all day long that they should take time out and post the black and missing. (Continued…)
Anthony
posted 5/14/09 @ 4:13 AM EST
I just don't get it why so many individuals end up missing. But then again, it's a sign of how broken families have become in the country.
J
posted 6/11/09 @ 1:48 PM EST
On avg 2200 children go missing everyday in america each day. It is our duty to respond by making sure the authorities follow federal laws that are in place to protect our children. (Continued…)
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