Vanished

While watching the local news one morning a report regarding Berronica Williams, a missing 16-year-old captured my attention. It was reported that Berronica was last seen on Riverdale Road in Clayton County Georgia on September 30, 2021, and has not been seen since (Vanished). I know that loved ones regularly report women and girls of color that are missing. However, after hearing this story I decided to take a closer look to determine the scope of young women that are missing not only in Clayton County Georgia but across the country.

While delving into this dilemma, the information I discovered should be of concern to all of us. According to the National Crime Information Center, in 2020 there were 268,884 girls and women reported missing in the United States, a third of whom were Black Females. The question is: what is being done to bring attention to this alarming number and why isn’t the public aware of the number of missing girls and women, especially women of color?

No one should be taken against their will. Consequently, it is imperative that just as much attention be given to our precious queens and princesses of color as there is given to women and girls of other races. There have been cases of missing girls and women that received extensive media coverage. Much of the media attention last for months. However, when it comes to women of color coverage is almost nonexistent.
There are a few organizations that are doing remarkable things to bring more attention to this profoundly serious problem in the black community. Erika Marie Rivers, a journalist has a site called OUR BLACK GIRLS which chronicles some of these missing cases.

The Black and Missing Foundation is a great resource. Additionally, I discovered that numerous families utilize the Pro Bono services of Public Relations Firms to help bring attention to their missing loved ones. It would be devastating to have your child taken and literally “disappear into thin air.”
Let us demand that more is done for missing people of color. Visit the aforementioned sites. Determine what it is that you can do to keep these cases in the public eye. After all, we are and still remain “our brothers’ keepers.” In the words of Marie Curie, the famous scientist “You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individual.

To that end, each of us must work for his own improvement and, at the same time, share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful.” In other words, “do what you can to help make the world a better place.”

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Marvin Dixon/Founder
VMGREVIEW.COM