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View Full Version : 100 Disruptions: #MissingDCgirls [14 black and Latinx teenagers]


ckaihatsu
25th March 2017, 18:24
100 Disruptions: #MissingDCgirls


freepress.net


Chris,

Over the last three weeks, at least 14 black and Latinx teenagers have disappeared from the Washington, D.C. area. If not for the heroic #FindOurKids campaign Twitter user @BlackMarvelGirl launched, we might never have heard about the #missingDCgirls.1

This is just the latest episode in a nationwide epidemic of underreporting when it comes to missing Black and Brown children.2

As we fight to protect press freedom, we must also hold our journalists to high standards of equity in coverage. Reporters shouldnt participate in the oppression of people.

From the focus on young blonde victims known as Missing White Woman Syndrome3 to racist framing and language in crime reporting,4 distorted and biased media coverage destroys communities of color5 while feeding white supremacist radicalization.6

Todays action is to join the fight by sharing these excellent resources created by our friends at Race Forward. Both reports explain specific practices for editors, journalists and others who control media narratives to alternately avoid and adopt:

Race Reporting Guide (https://act.freepress.net/go/16734?t=1&akid=6238.9036884.Io1Uxu)
Best Practices for Journalists Reporting on Police Killings (https://act.freepress.net/go/16735?t=2&akid=6238.9036884.Io1Uxu)

Share these tools with your local newsrooms and ask for a commitment to unbiased reporting.

Thanks for all that you do

Collette, Lucia, Dutch and the rest of the Free Press team
freepress.net (http://act.freepress.net/go/183?t=3&akid=6238.9036884.Io1Uxu)

P.S. Change your mind? Want to stop receiving 100 Days of Disruption updates? Let us know and we'll be sure you don't get these updates in the future.

1. Most Media Outlets Aren't Reporting on the Disappearance of Black and Latinx D.C. Teens, Teen Vogue, March 13, 2017:http://act.freepress.net/go/16736?t=6&akid=6238.9036884.Io1Uxu

2. 64,000 Missing Women in America All Have One Important Thing in Common, Mic, July 16, 2014: https://act.freepress.net/go/16737?t=8&akid=6238.9036884.Io1Uxu

3. Liebler, Carol M., John Stewart. "Me(di)a Culpa?: The Missing White Woman Syndrome and Media Self-Critique" (PDF). Communication, Culture & Critique, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University, 2010.

4. Fox News' Racial Crime Coverage Is Hurting People, Media Matters for America, Aug. 23, 2013: https://act.freepress.net/go/16738?t=10&akid=6238.9036884.Io1Uxu

5. Man Falsely Connected to the Shooting by Dallas Police Is Now Getting Thousands of Death Threats, The Washington Post, July 8, 2016: https://act.freepress.net/go/16739?t=12&akid=6238.9036884.Io1Uxu

6. We Need to Talk About the Online Radicalisation of Young, White Men, The Guardian, Nov. 15, 2016: https://act.freepress.net/go/16740?t=14&akid=6238.9036884.Io1Uxu


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ckaihatsu
1st April 2017, 15:22
Take Action: Missing Girls


Samantha Davis and Chioma Iwuoha just started a petition (https://coc.actionkit.com/go/7667?t=1&akid=7206.872082.rVaYMn) to

Take the Pledge: Protect Black Girls

Sign now! (https://coc.actionkit.com/go/7667?t=3&akid=7206.872082.rVaYMn)


https://d11gn0ip9m46ig.cloudfront.net/images/Add_heading_1.png (https://coc.actionkit.com/go/7667?t=4&akid=7206.872082.rVaYMn)
Protect our youth! Protect Black girls!


Dear Chris,

We just started a petition titled "Take the Pledge: Protect Black Girls" (https://coc.actionkit.com/go/7667?t=5&akid=7206.872082.rVaYMn)

We are Samantha and Chioma and we are writing you from Washington, DC. We have been working for years to protect the girls and youth that mainstream media are referring to as missing. We are heart warmed by the concern our nation is showing for these Black and Brown girls. But now we need your help to ensure this community awareness converts into community action to protect our youth.

Will you take a pledge and let Washington, DC youth activists know that youre committed to taking action with us to protect Black girls? (https://coc.actionkit.com/go/7667?t=6&akid=7206.872082.rVaYMn)

The nation is in shock as the viral hashtag #MissingDCGirls forced mainstream media to amplify the news that Black and Brown girls are going missing in Washington, DC.1 And now, for the first time in history, some of this countrys largest news outlets are focusing on what they are considering a new phenomenon of Black girls missing -- unfortunately, this tragedy is far from new.

Year after year, Black girls have been driven from their homes in D.C. and across the country. Black girls have often been forced to leave their homes because of circumstances beyond their control. Some are kidnapped or trafficked, and others are running from situations of harm--like poverty, abuse, neglect. This reason is why we are focusing not only on FINDING missing Black girls but also PROTECTING Black girls and all youth from harm in and outside of their homes.

Join us if you pledge to protect our youth! (https://coc.actionkit.com/go/7667?t=7&akid=7206.872082.rVaYMn)

Black communities have a strong legacy of caring, defending and protecting our girls and all young people beyond state policing. Lawmakers in DC have vowed to address #MissingDCGirls by putting more police on the street. But since colonization, the U.S. has used state policing to criminalize and terrorize Black communities instead of keeping them safe. Last year, the state department even released a report exposing the sexual violence police are inflicting on Black women and communities. And just a few years ago, DC Officer Linwood Barnhill Jr. was caught running a prostitution ring out of his home.2 So, for Black folks, protecting our young people cannot start or end with policing.

Will you pledge to protect Black girls? (https://coc.actionkit.com/go/7667?t=8&akid=7206.872082.rVaYMn)

Washington, DC activist and organizers have been convening over the past several days to develop initiatives with long-term youth advocates and direct service providers.3 They are expected to share their solutions, needs and next steps with the public this week. But in the meantime, they need a commitment from those who care. Will you take action to keep our youth safe?

Sign the Pledge here. (https://coc.actionkit.com/go/7667?t=9&akid=7206.872082.rVaYMn)

Thank you,

Samantha Davis, Black Swan4

Chioma Iwuoha, Melanin Uprising5


Sign now (https://coc.actionkit.com/go/7667?t=11&akid=7206.872082.rVaYMn)


References:

"Missing Girls Prompt Call for Federal Help" CNN 03.26.2017
D.C. police officer accused of running prostitution ring WJLA, 12.5.2017
"Courtney's House: Embracing the child hurt in sex trafficking" Courtney's House, 2008
"The Black Swan Academy: Making the exception the rule" Black Swan, 2015
"Melanin Uprising" Melanin Uprising, 2015

Join us and start your own petition on OrganizeFor today! (https://coc.actionkit.com/go/7577?t=18&akid=7206.872082.rVaYMn)

Color Of Change (https://coc.actionkit.com/go/7578?t=19&akid=7206.872082.rVaYMn) is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Help keep our movement strong. (https://act.colorofchange.org/donate/donate/?source=O4Footer&t=20&akid=7206.872082.rVaYMn)

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