California ranks in the top states where people of color are disappearing at an alarming rate. Sadly, many of our cases are under the radar, like Arianna Fitts of San Francisco, who has been missing for seven years after her mom was found murdered.
In a new initiative designed to address the distressing disparity in missing persons cases, California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed Senate Bill 673 into law, introducing the nation’s first statewide alert system designed specifically to aid in locating missing Black children and young Black women.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed legislation making California the first state in the country to create a separate alert system for missing women and children based on race.
'Black children are disproportionately classified as "runaways" in comparison to white children who are classified as "missing,"' a news release from Sen. Steven Bradford's office stated.
California will create a new statewide alert system said to be the first in the nation specific to help find missing Black children and young Black women.