OAN’s Stephanie Stahl
6:04 PM – Wednesday, October 11, 2023
California has passed new “Ebony Alert” legislation that seeks to inform the public about missing Black children.
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On Sunday, Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 673 into law in an effort to address the disparity in missing persons cases.
The law, which is slated to go into effect on January 1st, 2024, is similar to the “Amber Alert” system.
The new law will allow the California Highway Patrol to activate the alert if any Black youth go missing.
It will also employ electronic highway signs and spread information about the missing person via radio, TV, and social media.
The “Ebony Alert” will be used for missing Black people between the ages of 12-to-25.
According to the National Crime Information Center, about 141,000 Black minors went missing in 2022, and Black women over the age of 21 accounted for nearly 16,500 missing persons cases that year.
At the end of 2022, more than 30,000 Black Americans remained missing, according to the Black and Missing Foundation.
Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) who authored the bill, reported that the state’s missing Black children and women are disproportionately represented in missing persons lists, labeling it a “crisis” for the state.
“We feel it’s well beyond time that we dedicate something specifically to help bring these young women and girls back home because they’re missed and loved just as much as their counterparts are,” Bradford asserted earlier this year in regards to the legislation.
California has previously taken action to tackle racial inequalities in locating missing individuals.
Last year, Gov. Newsom signed the Feather Alert bill, which was authored by Assembly Member James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino) and a citizen of the Serrano/Cahuilla tribe from San Bernardino.
The legislation was designed to aid in the location of endangered Indigenous people.
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