Congressional Caucus To Present Report On Missing Black Girls & Women

Photo of D.C. Missing Children courtesy of Twitter.

The Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls will be presenting a report on research involving missing black children across the country, and how to best handle the problem.

Founded in 2016 by Representatives Robin Kelly, Yvette Clarke, and Bonnie Watson Coleman, the group has been tasked with examining the epidemic of missing black children in America and finding solutions to the problem.

The organization held a town hall on Wednesday which included lawmakers, advocates, local government officials, and academics.

"I'm glad to bring this important conversation to Capitol Hill following a similar one that I hosted in Chicago examining this crisis and its risk factors," said Rep. Kelly. "This problem is not just affecting Chicago and DC, but it's affecting small and large communities across the country. It's clear that we need a nationwide solution to address this nationwide problem."

"There are many reasons why girls go missing," Rep. Clarke added. "It's my hope that we shine a spotlight on the many components that contribute to the issue of missing Black women and girls and begin to come up with informed solutions to help reconcile the issue on both the local and federal level."

News of missing black children has come to a head recently in Washington, D.C. A month ago came news that a dozen black and Latinx children (all between the age of 14 and 18) had been missing since late February and late March.

Ultimately, several of the teens had been found, only for another group of them to go missing recently.

Since then, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser has announced the city's plans to dedicate more resources to search and rescue children who go missing. Bowser will increase the number of police officers assigned to find missing children and establish a task force to determine what social services teenagers who run away need to stabilize their home lives.