A new law has created another specialized alert for endangered missing individuals in California.
On Jan. 1, SB 673, which created the new “Ebony Alert,” went into effect.
The legislation was authored by Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) and sponsored by the NAACP California Hawaii State Conference.
It allows law enforcement agencies to request that the California Highway Patrol activate an alert for Black youth — including young women and girls between 12 to 25 years of age — who are reported missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances, at risk, developmentally disabled, cognitively impaired, or who have been abducted, the CHP reported.
Bradford’s office said that, with the bill becoming law, California will become the first state in the nation to enact a law to combat the crisis of missing Black youth and young Black women.
While Black Americans make up 13% of the nation’s population, Bradford said Black children make up about 38% of all missing child cases and they receive less media attention.
In addition, Bradford’s office said missing young Black women are often subjected to human trafficking. A Congressional Black Caucus Foundation report on human trafficking also found 40% of sex trafficking victims nationally were identified as Black women.
In a support statement for the legislation, Oakland City Councilmember Treva Reid pointed to
Oakland Police Department data that shows that Black people make up 22% of Oakland’s population yet account for about 60% of reported missing persons cases.
The Black and Missing Foundation reported that California ranks in the top states where people of color are disappearing at an alarming rate.
“It is important to continue to raise awareness about this issue and advocate for policies that prioritize finding missing people of color. We must ensure that every missing person is given the same amount of attention and resources, regardless of their race or socioeconomic status,” the foundation said.
Berry Accius, founder and chief executive officer of Voice of the Youth, said of the new legislation, “The Ebony Alert will be a game changer for our communities and a necessary tool to bring missing Black girls and women home.”
Bradford’s office said that, unlike the Amber Alert — which can only be used for children younger than age 18 — the Ebony Alert is broader and can be used to help locate young people between the ages of 12 and 25, including those that are considered runaways and those that are subject to human trafficking.
However, that broader aspect of the Ebony Alert was noted as a concern by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who signed the bill into law on Oct. 8.
In his signing message, the governor thanked the Legislature for addressing the “well documented disproportionality in the number of children of color who go missing every year.”
However, while he was signing the bill, Newsom added, “my Administration has broader concerns that were clearly expressed to the author throughout the process. The criteria in this bill are expansive and do not align with the criteria in existing alerts such as the Amber Alert, Endangered Missing Advisory, Feather Alert and Silver Alert. Our emergency alert system is dependent on people not being fatigued by it and thus ignoring it. Our challenge is to achieve balance between the imperative to notify the public quickly in cases of missing persons or dangerous situations, but to not desensitize that same public by sending too many notifications.”
In response, Newsom said he’s directed the CHP and the Office of Emergency Services to propose reforms through the budget “to ensure consistency for all of California's alert programs.”
The Ebony Alert joins a suite of other alerts managed by the CHP.
In 2022, two new alerts were approved: The Feather Alert, meant to help locate missing Indigenous people, and the California Statewide Yellow Alert Program, introduced through Assembly Bill 1732, which the CHP said is activated when a person has been killed due to a hit-and-run incident and the law enforcement agency has specified information concerning the suspect or the suspect’s vehicle.
Other alerts include:
• The AMBER Alert — which stands for America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response — that’s been used since 2002 when children age 17 or younger have been abducted;
• The Blue Alert, approved in 2011, that notifies the public when a suspect in the assault or killing of a police officer remains at large and the search is active.
• The Silver Alert, used since 2013 when elderly, developmentally or cognitively-impaired persons are missing and determined to be at-risk.
• The general endangered missing advisory is used when an individual is missing under unexplained or suspicious, and is believed to be in danger due to issues with age, physical and mental health issues, weather, being with a potentially dangerous person or other circumstances.
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New ‘Ebony Alert’ goes into effect
- Elizabeth Larson
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