As of 2014, 658,893 people live in D.C.
In Northern Virginia, as of July 2013, almost 3 million people live in that area.
890, 081 people live in Prince George’s County, Maryland and 1.017 million people live in Montgomery County, Maryland.
These areas belong to the D.C. metro area, populated by numerous amounts of people, so why is it that the news of missing girls of D.C. just now getting the news it deserves.
As a native of the D.C. metro area, from my friends back home, I have heard of the news about the missing black girls for weeks now. However, just yesterday, have I seen media outlets discuss the issue of the missing girls., pointing out the inaccuracies and the truths.
There had been a post flooding social media, stating that 14 girls had gone missing in a period of 24 hours in our nation’s capital.
I was outraged at the news, I could not understand how 14 girls had gone missing and no one seemed to care. Was it because they were girls? Was it because they were black? Was it because they were missing in the part of D.C. that is not surrounded by government buildings and Georgetown shops?
News outlets have claimed that the girls are runaways, that they left their homes voluntarily. However, Congressional Black Caucus lawmakers made an interesting statement about the missing girls.
“When children of color go missing, authorities often assume they are runaways rather than victims of abduction.”
This poses an interesting conversation. I have seen countless articles, countless People magazine articles discussing the disappearance of young white girls. I heard about the investigation for a period of years, it was constantly around me, which is good, because there needs to be awareness and conversation.
However, I would like to see that with young black girls who disappear. The media and law enforcers should devote the same amount of time and effort to minorities that they devote to white people.
There is another point to be said, even if some of the girls ran away, should they not be found? Especially since they are underage, should people not be looking for them. Granted, there must be someone who is doing their job right, however as a native of the DMV it breaks my heart to see girls similar to me receive little to know attention.
Statistics annually done have shown that the amounts of missing children in D.C. are relatively the same, but there is obviously something different about this year, this month, that has everyone worried.
Obviously, people are troubled because girls are missing, however, it could also be that they are now clearly seeing that there is nothing being done about it.
These girls are 10 and 11-years-old, it is about time they are brought back to safety, and hopefully the media and law enforcement officials will aid with that.
