California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law a new system called “Ebony Alert” which is similar to the already-existing Amber Alert. The new system will go into effect on January 1st, 2024. The purpose of “Ebony Alert” is to notify the public whenever black children and women under the age of 25 go missing. Proponents of Ebony Alert say that missing black women are often overlooked in favor of missing white women. Statistics say that 40% of the missing women and children are African-American. “Ebony Alert” joins a crowded list of similar systems in California including Amber Alert for children under 17, Silver Alert for senior citizens, Indigenous Alert for Native Americans, and Blue Alert for suspects who have injured police officers.
SOURCES:
California just created the ‘Ebony Alert’ to find missing Black children
New CA ‘Ebony Alert’ system addresses crisis of missing Black youth | The Sacramento Bee
California’s new tool aims to help track down missing Black youth – CBS Sacramento
California creates race-based missing persons alert system: ‘Ebony alert’ | Washington Examiner
Backlash as California rolls out ‘EBONY Alert’ to report and find missing black women and children – with critics saying some people will ignore them altogether | Daily Mail Online
