Missing or Murdered Sisters

There's an interview over on Black and Missing of Stephanie Jones, founder of M.O.M.S. One passage particularly stuck out in my mind:

10. Why do you think it took the media so long to talk about this? Do you think race or social class plays a role?

I feel that race and social class play a part in this but more social class than race. I say this because if one white person goes missing you hear about it everywhere. There was a murder about a year ago [around the same time of the NC serial killer murders] to two [white] Christian women who participated extensively in their communities. One was shot, and the other killed. The police blocked all the streets off, had press conferences and they quickly caught the guy. I don't have a problem with that and they should have done that, but at the same time when they found the second [serial killer victim’s] body in the same area and both women fitted the same profile why didn't they have a press conference? Why didn't they block those streets off? When the parents first reported the girls missing, the police did not get a search crew, and no police officers walked the streets with the missing girls photos asking if any one seen them. I know this situation is different because it’s a lot of people involved, but the officials could have done more to help the situation. I just want all people to get the same treatment as anyone else. It shouldn’t matter your color, income or where you from.

Last summer, I remember being a little surprised to see missing black women being featured on CNN. We've been saying for a while now that missing black women don't get the same media coverage or attention placed on their return. Kudos to Stephanie Jones for spearheading efforts to make sure our sistas make it back home.