A missing teen was found in Long Beach thanks to a new California law. The Ebony Alert was approved by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in October 2023. It was created to address the racial disparities in locating missing persons, particularly Black minors and women and is the first of its kind in the country.
This was the first time the alert was issued after the law went into effect on January 1, 2024. On Thursday, January 4, a message was sent about the missing teen who had not been seen since December 30, 2023. The 17-year-old was found safe the following day.
The California Highway Patrol addressed the happy ending on its Facebook page. “The CHP's first Ebony Alert safely located a missing teen in Los Angeles," it stated. "This new emergency alert, focused on missing Black youth and young women, marks a significant step in dedicating resources towards a previously underserved community.”
As part of its mission, the Black and Missing Foundation, a Maryland-based nonprofit, educates the public on some scary statistics. Of missing persons in the United States, 40% are people of color. Many of these are minors who are then labeled as runaways who do not receive the same resources as other missing persons. This means no alerts or officers trying to locate them.
The organization was thrilled when this new system was signed into law. “California ranks in the top states where people of color are disappearing at an alarming rate,” the foundation's statement on the matter began. “Sadly, many of our cases are under the radar, like Arianna Fitts of San Francisco, who has been missing for seven years after her mom was found murdered. We must change this statistic.”
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California State Senator Steve Bradford, a Democrat from Los Angeles County, praised the Ebony Alert’s success. “I’m very relieved to know she is safe and unharmed. It’s clear the Ebony Alert will make a real difference," he stated. “Black children and young women go missing at disproportionately higher rates but do not receive the same level of attention as others who go missing. This is exactly the reason I authored this law. This new law can reduce the anguish and pain that so many families experience when a loved one is missing. I’m proud that California has become the first state in the nation to prioritize the crisis of missing Black people through the passage of the Ebony Alert law.”
