Debate in the United States after the media scandal of the Pettito case, ‘Missing missing black women is not taken seriously’

Not only in the media, but also in the police, according to critics, there is no urgency for a black woman. “These things are taken less seriously,” says Derrick Wilson of the organization Black and missing, They have been focusing on cases of missing persons in black families for 13 years. “We often see the family being told that their loved one must have run away first.”

For example, Amber will not be alert and the missing person’s precious first 24 or 48 hours will slip away, Wilson says. “Can you imagine saying this when a white family complains to the police in panic?” He says that when a black man or woman goes missing, the culprits are automatically thought of first. “As if the lives of these people are short. They are being made inhumane.”

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In the United States, the debate over missing white woman syndrome has often erupted in the media and in the police. But Derrick Wilson’s organization notices a difference this time around: many media outlets are already black and missing out on advice. “I’ll be in a group discussion at one of the nation’s largest newspapers next week. It’s really new.”

According to Wilson, that media focus is the most important link in the resolution of a case. “The general public knows about the missing person, they know the name and help them search.” But that’s not even the essence, she says. “Media attention is putting pressure on the police and the FBI to put money and men in a case. This will really ensure that the missing person is taken seriously.”

It seems that she can come home tonight to Kishi Jacobs’ room. Fantastic toys on the bed and happy pictures of the past on the wall. Her mother Tony believes she is still alive and will come home one day. “I know it in my heart. And she needs to know that I’m constantly struggling to find her.”

Because it’s a kidnapping, says Jacobs. In his opinion, one thing can happen precisely because the media and the police have a blind spot when it comes to black women. “If you’re going to rob someone, you do it where no one notices,” he says, so if you want to kidnap a woman, you choose something that the media and police don’t pay attention to. You go ahead. “