A new Missouri law has created the Missing and Murdered African American Women and Girls Task Force to develop ways to reduce violence against Black women and girls.
Research shows that African American women and girls go missing or are murdered at disproportionately higher rates than white women and girls, and their cases often receive far less law enforcement attention.
Related posts
Sen. Angela Mosley, D-Florissant, said the task force aims to change that. “Hopefully, we’ll bring some resolve for those families who have been waiting for years for law enforcement to take their cases seriously,” she said.
Mosley had introduced a similar bill last year that failed to pass. After learning about a successful Minnesota measure focused on missing and murdered Black women and girls, she adapted it for Missouri. The law took effect on Aug. 28.
Task Force Goals and Structure
The task force will meet monthly beginning Oct. 1. Members will review statistics, explore why African American women face such high missing and murdered rates despite making up a smaller share of the population, and hear testimonies from survivors and families. By the end of the year, the task force will send lawmakers a report with its findings and recommendations.
Members will include state legislators, law enforcement, domestic violence organizations, missing persons advocacy groups, African American victims of violence, and Black people who were located after being reported missing.
Personal Stories Driving the Effort
Theda Wilson’s 9-year-old son went missing in St. Louis in 2003. His father was later convicted in his death, but his remains were never recovered. Wilson created “Looking for an Angel” to help families navigate the missing persons process and now serves on the task force.
Wilson said many Black families face obstacles when working with law enforcement to locate loved ones. “They are children that are missing just because they ran, or just because you think they ran does not mean that they don’t deserve the attention that they are entitled to,” she said. “If white people are entitled to it, why shouldn’t we?”
She added that most families she assists struggle to get police to file reports or devote attention to their cases. “If they just had a legal team or our task force to hold them accountable, then we really could see how the system really has been failing, or law enforcement has been failing families going through this process,” Wilson said. “I’m not trying to shine a negative light on law enforcement, it’s just that you only know what you know and when you know better, you should do better.”
By the Numbers
As of Sept. 15, the National Crime Information Center lists 1,172 missing people in Missouri. Of those, 224 are Black females. Wilson believes the true number is higher because many Black women and girls never make the official list.
“I personally have had to force the hand of law enforcement and assist families with getting their child recognized as missing or filing a missing person report, because sometimes they may not have said the right things to let people know that this is a missing person case, and there is no waiting period,” she said.
Mosley hopes the task force’s work will lead to a dedicated missing and murdered office for families and law enforcement. Wilson wants to see more Black women and girls reunited with their families and for law enforcement to treat all cases equally.
“I just want people to remember the numbers, remember the names, and remember that African Americans are people too,” Wilson said.
This article has been carefully fact-checked by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and eliminate any misleading information. We are committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity in our content.
