TV One and Black and Missing Foundation Announce Partnership in Conjunction with “Find Our Missing” Multi-platform Initiative
TV One and the Black and Missing Foundation, Inc. (BAM FI) have forged a partnership in conjunction with Find Our Missing, TV One’s multi-platform effort to draw attention to and help find missing Black Americans. The effort centers around a docu-drama series hosted by Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actress S. Epatha Merkerson designed to put names and faces to people of color who have disappeared without a trace, combined with a robust, interactive social media and online component (www.tvone.tv) designed to inform and engage and provide vital tools that allow people to get involved, offer tips, and learn how to keep themselves and their family members safe.
In addition to the cases specifically featured in Find Our Missing, tvone.tv will utilize the Black and Missing Foundation’s alerts and latest updates about recent missing persons cases, as well as other content supplied by the organization, such as tips on how to prevent abductions, and link visitors back through Find Our Missing’s Facebook page and Twitter to BAM FI’s site (35.225.194.249), where they can find additional resources and tools. The Black and Missing Foundation also will help promote information about TV One’s initiative and series through their website and social media venues.
“The Black and Missing Foundation has provided an important service for information about missing people of color, and we are proud to work with them and help them further their work in the hope that we can draw more attention to this critical issue and bring new information to light for the loved ones of the missing featured in this series, and for others,” said TV One President and CEO Wonya Lucas.
“We all know that black and Latinos, or any person of color, who go missing often times do not receive the much needed media coverage, which could drastically increase the odds of their safe recovery,” said Derrica Wilson, Co-Founder, President and CEO of Black and Missing Foundation, Inc. “We are proud to be partners with TV One on this first-of-its-kind television series that will make information about missing persons of color available to millions in the United States and abroad,” added Wilson, who is also interviewed about some of the cases in Find Our Missing episodes.
“Our partnership with TV One on this new series will provide extra visibility to help law enforcement and Black and Missing Foundation, Inc bring more missing persons home,” said Natalie Wilson, Co-Founder, Black and Missing Foundation, Inc. “Getting the message out as broadly as possible is the best way to help find our missing persons.”
TV One’s online content on www.tvone.tv will share important information on what to do if someone is missing, tips on how to prevent abductions, and offer additional stories about lost people, and some who have been found, plus include information on missing persons and allow users to submit tips electronically. TV One has also created a Find Our Missing Facebook page devoted to the series and the latest news and updates on the missing victims. Later this month, tvone.tv will also launch a new Justice and Mystery section that includes news articles about the latest missing persons cases, the wrongfully imprisoned, police brutality and fascinating unsolved mysteries, as well as retrospectives on major justice cases throughout history, and a feature where users can ask experts questions related to the justice system.
About Black and Missing Foundation Inc.:
Black and Missing Foundation, Inc (BAMFI) is established as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, by a veteran law enforcement official and public relations specialist, whose mission is to bring awareness to missing persons of color; provide vital resources and tools to missing person’s families and friends; and to provide educational training on personal safety. BAMFI offers a free clearinghouse, which highlights profiles and information on missing persons of color, nationally. Profiles of missing individuals, throughout the nation, as well as news, information, and tips, can be found at BAMFI’s Web site: www.bamfi.org, IG: @blackandmissingfdn, Twitter: @BAM_FI or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bamfiorg.
About TV One:
Launched in January 2004, TV One (www.tvone.tv) serves more than 56.4 million households, offering a broad range of real-life and entertainment-focused original programming, classic series, movies, and music designed to entertain, inform and inspire a diverse audience of adult black viewers. In December 2008, the company launched TV One High Def, which now serves 14 million households. TV One is owned by Radio One [NASDAQ: ROIA and ROIAK; www.radio-one.com], the largest radio company that primarily targets African American and urban listeners; and Comcast Corporation [NASDAQ: CMCSA, CMCSK); www.comcast.com], one of the nation’s leading providers of entertainment, information and communications products and services.
Photo credit: TV One