By Dennis Richmond Jr.
Ashley Williamson, 16, went missing last month in Mount Vernon. There was no major media coverage for her. Keira Leon, 13, went missing last month in Yonkers. I didn’t see anything on News12 Westchester. Jayden Jennings, 17, went missing from Dobbs Ferry less than a week before Ashley. Nobody sent out an alert. Ethan Aponte, 16, went missing in Yonkers in June. Why are so many Black and Hispanic children going missing in New York?
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, as of October 24th, 2022, 66 Black and Hispanic teenagers are missing in New York. Those missing in Yonkers, Keira Leon, Ethan Aponte, and Aiden Early, are all under 18-years-old. Unfortunately, most Black, and Hispanic teenagers that go missing never get national media coverage. Last year, a Google search for the name “Gabby” instantly pulled up articles about Gabby Petito. Gabby, 22, was a slain white woman. Gabby received national media coverage, but Keira, Ethan, and Aiden didn’t.
In 2021, NPR said, “tens of thousands of Black girls and women go missing every year. Last year, that figure was nearly 100,000. Yet their cases hardly ever grab national headlines.” A journalist in California is doing what she can to try to change that, by telling as many of their stories as she can — and hopefully helping them get the justice they deserve. Our Black Girls centers on the often untold stories of Black girls and women who have gone missing or, in some cases, were found dead under mysterious circumstances.” The website was created four years ago by Erika Marie Rivers.
Why are Black and Hispanic teenagers specifically targeted? Dr. Umar Johnson and the late Dick Gregory talked about organ harvesting. People are stealing organs from Black and Hispanic people. Illegal activity, such as payment for this process, takes place on the dark web. Hopefully, none of the 66 missing children might have a connection to the dark web.
Other than organ harvesting, teenagers are missing due to sex trafficking. Last year, a man was arrested for sex trafficking in Detroit on October 14th. A man in Milwaukee, 45, was arrested last year too. According to FOX6 Milwaukee, some of his charges include “interstate transportation for prostitution” and “interstate transportation of a minor for criminal sexual activity.” On October 24th of this year, Florida police broke up a sex trafficking ring. This stuff is serious. Dozens of Black and Hispanic teens are going missing, and there’s no outcry. Where is the national media attention?
I don’t know if any of the missing teenagers have been found. I haven’t found any information stating that they have. I also don’t know if any of the missing teens in New York are victims of organ harvesting or sex trafficking. The hope is that the families and friends of all these victims find their loved ones. That could only happen when more people start talking.
Visit https://www.missingkids.org/home, to learn more about the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
