Thousands of people are reported missing every year in the U.S. and while not every case will get widespread media attention, the coverage of white victims versus minority victims is far from proportionate. Take a look at this infographic, created by BAMFI, detailing the disparity.
BLACK & MISSING IN AMERICA
A LOOK AT DISPARITIES IN MISSING PERSONS CASES
2023 STATISTICS FOR THE UNITED STATES *
* SOURCE: 2023 NCIC MISSING PERSON AND UNIDENTIFIED PERSON STATISTICS (2/7/2024)
57%
WHITE (INCLUDES HISPANIC)
40%
MINORITY
3% WERE 'UNKNOWN'
40 PERCENT OF MISSING PERSONS ARE PERSONS OF COLOR, YET AFRICAN-AMERICANS MAKE UP ONLY 13 PERCENT OF THE POPULATION.
(SOURCE: CENSUS.GOV)
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE REPORTED MISSING EVERY YEAR IN THE U.S. AND WHILE NOT EVERY CASE WILL GET WIDESPREAD MEDIA ATTENTION, THE COVERAGE OF WHITE AND MINORITY VICTIMS IS FAR FROM PROPORTIONATE.
WHY THE DISPARITY IN MEDIA COVERAGE?
RUNAWAYS
A LOT OF MINORITY CHILDREN ARE INITIALLY CLASSIFIED AS RUNAWAYS, AND AS A RESULT DO NOT RECEIVE THE AMBERT ALERT.
CRIMINALS
MISSING MINORITY ADULTS ARE LABELED AS ASSOCIATED WITH CRIMINAL INVOLVEMENT, GANGS AND DRUGS.
DESENSITIZATION
IT IS BELIEVED THAT MISSING MINORITIES LIVE IN IMPOVERISHED CONDITIONS AND CRIME IS A REGULAR PART OF THEIR LIVES.
MISSING PERSONS REPORTED BY GENDER (ALL RACES)
50%
FEMALE (280,031)
50%
MALE (283,185)
173 INDIVIDUALS WERE LISTED AS 'UNKNOWN' (< 1%)
BREAKDOWN BASED ON AGE AND RACE (UNDER 18)
WHITE (INCLUDES HISPANIC)
AFRICAN-AMERICAN
ASIAN & INDIAN
3% WERE 'UNKNOWN'
(INCLUDES AFRICAN-AMERICAN, ASIAN, & INDIAN)
IN 2023, 224,706 PERSONS OF COLOR WERE REPORTED MISSING. OF THAT GROUP, 162,755 WERE UNDER THE AGE OF 18. YET, MISSING MINORITY CHILDREN ARE GROSSLY UNDERREPORTED IN THE NEWS.
WHAT CAN WE DO TO LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD?
MORE DIVERSITY IN THE NEWSROOM
ACCORDING TO THE 2018 DIVERSITY SURVEY CONDUCTED BY THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEWS EDITORS, NEWSROOMS TEND TO BE WHITE AND MALE. A DIVERSE STAFF MEANS A WIDE RANGE OF STORIES CAN BE TOLD.
#DIVERSITYMATTERS
LESS IS MORE
BALANCE THE SCALES AND SHOW LESS OF ONE GROUP AND MORE OF EVERYONE.
SEE VALUE IN BLACK & BROWN LIVES
THIS IS AN AMERICAN ISSUE AND IT AFFECTS US ALL.
BE VIGILANT
WE ALL – LAW ENFORCEMENT, THE MEDIA AND OUR COMMUNITIES – SHOULD BE VIGILANT IN FINDING OUR MISSING.