A new alert notification system in California — the first of its kind in the country — will go into effect in January to help police find missing black youth.
On October 8, Governor Gavin Newson signed legislation establishing Ebony Alert, which seeks to address racial disparities in missing persons cases in the US, particularly involving young people of color.
“We were thrilled and very appreciative of it,” state Sen. Steven Bradford, who authored the bill, told PEOPLE. “It is something that is really needed. We wouldn’t do it if we didn’t think it was important. So I commend the governor for having the vision to sign this piece of legislation and help return these individuals to their loved ones, as we do with anyone else who is missing or abducted.”
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What is Ebony Alert?
According to its text, the bill would authorize the law enforcement agency to ask the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to activate an ebony alert, specifically for cases involving young black men — including girls and young women.
Criteria for activating an Ebony alert include factors such as:
- The missing person is between the ages of 12 and 25
- The person has a mental or physical deficiency
- The person disappeared under unexplained or suspicious circumstances, as determined by the law enforcement authorities
- The physical safety of the missing person could be at risk
- The victim may be the subject of human trafficking
- The police believe that the missing person is in danger due to age, health, mental or physical disability, environment or weather conditions or is in the company of a potentially dangerous person
- There is enough information for the public that could help in the recovery of the victim
“This bill would authorize the department to activate an Ebony Alert within the appropriate geographic area requested by an investigating law enforcement agency,” according to the bill, “and to assist the agency by disseminating certain warning messages and signs, if the department agrees with the agency that the Ebony Alert would be an effective tool in the investigation of a missing person according to certain factors.”
Ebony Alert is like California’s AMBER alert, which is modeled after the national AMBER plan that was created after the 1996 killing of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, according to the CHP. The only difference between the systems is the age of the missing person. For AMBER Alert, it is 17 years or less.
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“We want it to work just like the AMBERT Alert,” Bradford tells PEOPLE, “where, again, our police are engaged, then they engage our highway patrol, and we have electronic billboards on our highways, and using all of our media, radio and TV to the same extent and make sure people are aware that these individuals are missing.”
Racial differences that led to the law
California already has a Feather Alert, a notification system for missing indigenous people, and a Silver Alert, when “an elderly, developmentally or cognitively disabled person is missing and determined to be at risk,” the CHP said.
Still, text in the Ebony Alert bill, which Bradford introduced earlier this year, notes that while nearly 98% of missing children have been located because their cases have been widely publicized over the past two decades, “there are serious racial disparities in the statistics of the 2 percent who are still missing.”
According to the Black and Missing Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Maryland, nearly 40% of missing people in the US are people of color — even though African Americans make up only 13% of the country’s population, according to US Census data.
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The same organization also said that of the 214,582 people of color reported missing in 2022, 153,374 were under the age of 18.
It also adds that many missing minority children are initially classified as “runaways” and therefore do not receive an Amber Alert or media attention.
“Many times young African-Americans who go missing are quickly identified or labeled as ‘runaways’ by police, while our colleagues are quickly identified as ‘missing’ or ‘kidnapped,'” says Bradford. “Even when young African-Americans are victims of human trafficking, they are treated as underage prostitutes. Many times they arrest these young African-American women as prostitutes instead of being trafficked.”
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Bradford also cites extensive media coverage of the missing persons case of Gabby Petito, who was found strangled to death in Wyoming after going on a cross-country trip with boyfriend Brian Laundrie during the summer of 2021.
“She was a real example [of] what can this country do when it really wants to find you”, he says. “But the media attention that her disappearance has gotten across this country, very rarely, if ever, do you see that for an African-American who goes missing at a higher rate than our white counterparts.”
Significance of warning Ebony
In a statement shared with PEOPLE, the Foundation for the Black and Missing applauded the law establishing the Ebony Alert, calling it a step in the right direction.
“California is among the first states where people of color are disappearing at an alarming rate,” the statement said. “Unfortunately, many of our cases go under the radar, like Arianna Fitts of San Francisco, who has been missing for seven years after her mother was found murdered. We have to change this statistic.
The organization hopes the rest of the country will follow the example of California’s Ebony Alert. “It is important to continue to raise awareness of this issue and advocate for policies,” the statement continued, “that prioritize finding missing people of color.” We must ensure that every missing person is given the same amount of attention and resources, regardless of their race or socioeconomic status. We work together to bring justice and peace to families searching for their loved ones.”
Bradford tells PEOPLE he hopes the Ebony Alert, which will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, will lead to the timely and safe return of young black men, similar to the return of their counterparts. “This is about reunification, finding those individuals who are missing, who were abducted in no way alone, and bringing them home to their families safely,” he says, adding, “That’s all we can hope for.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education