“Black and Missing and Not Forgotten” starts petition for equal media coverage of Stepha Henry and others
I introduced the Dallas South family to Deidra Robey and her blog Black and Missing and Not Forgotten last week. Deidra has created a petition to national news stations seeking greater exposure for black women in the United States who are missing. In her petition, Deidra makes some excellent points:
– Chandra Levy. Laci Peterson. Natalee Holloway. Jessie Marie Davis. Do you recognize these names? What about Tamika Huston, Latoyia Figueroa, Linda Renee Innocent and Stepha Henry? All are missing [some now deceased] women. The only difference is the color of their skin. The first group is white and the second group is black.
– “[Stepha] Henry's (photo, right) case, however, has not been taken up by the media with the same fervor as that of Jessie Marie Davis — a 26-year-old pregnant white woman who disappeared from her Canton, Ohio, home in mid-June — about two weeks after Henry was reported missing…"
– There even seems to be a difference in reward money. The FBI offered $10,000 for information on Davis. Currently, there is a $6,000 reward for information to help find Henry, but that sum came from donations. Henry's family contributed $4,000; Crime Stoppers offered $1,000; and another $1,000 was donated by a family friend.
These are things that black folks have been talking about for years, but Deidra has summed it all up in this well thought out petition. Regardless of why it is, it is; American media goes to great lengths to cover missing white women while virtually ignoring African-American females in the same situation.
I haven't asked the Dallas South family for much, but I am asking that readers of this website take a moment to sign Deidra's petition. When I logged on to the petition, 46 people had signed before me. I am blessed to have a large readership by blogging standards, so I know the type of impact that Dallas South alone could have on this petition. Those readers, by the way, are from many different classes, races, and political affiliations.
If you have a sister, a mother, a daughter, a niece, or all of the above, click here (if you missed the other two links) to show your support of Deidra and her cause. America often turns a blind eye to realities such as what Deidra presents on her site, but I pray that you do not. I thank you in advance for you attention to this matter.
