California’s New “Ebony Alert” Aims to Raise Awareness For Missing Black Youth

With missing Black youth often falling to the waist side, California is doing its part to ensure their cases get the same effort.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has greenlit a new tool similar to the Amber Alert. However, it will be geared at alerting the public to missing youth of color. Families of missing Black children and young people often say they do not get the same resources as white children who disappear. This can be seen in many of the cases highlighted on Our Black Girls. Organizations such as Black and Missing have also fought for years to bring coverage to neglected missing Black and brown people. Now, with Newsom’s new initiative, a sense of urgency will go into these instances. 

Senate Bill 673, also known as Ebony Alert, is a specialized version of Amber Alert, which applies to children aged 17 and younger. Ebony Alerts will be sent out for adolescents ages 12 to 25. Young minorities who disappear will qualify for the notification if they are considered at-risk or have any physical and or mental disadvantages. These are the types of victims who are most vulnerable to human trafficking. Ebony Alerts will be displayed on roadside signs and mobile device notifications.

California residents can expect to begin seeing these signals starting January 1st, 2024. However, in order for them to be activated, law enforcement working on missing person cases must initiate them. Though a step in the right direction, some remain skeptical that the Ebony Alert will be effective in locating missing Black people. 

“Something’s better than nothing. Whether the Amber Alert or an Ebony Alert is going to be 100% effective, we don’t go with that false illusion or belief. But it’s better than not doing anything at all,” Timothy Griffin, an associate professor of criminal justice at the University of Nevada, Reno, told NBC News.