Kimora Wong Sing<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Natalie Wilson co-founded the Black and Missing Foundation in 2008, she made a promise to families too often overlooked: that their missing loved ones would no longer be ignored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The nonprofit organization, created by Wilson and her sister-in-law Derrica Wilson, aims to combat the disparity in media coverage and law enforcement response that affects missing persons of color, particularly Black individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen we first started the organization, I remember a young woman named Phoenix Coldon went missing from St. Louis,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cI called every local news station, and we couldn\u2019t get coverage. Now, I can pick up the phone and call media partners across the country to ask for help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Citing the U.S. Census Bureau, the Black and Missing Foundation says on its website that 40% of missing persons are people of color, yet African Americans make up only 13% of the U.S. population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Partnerships with national and local newsrooms and groups, including the Washington Association of Black Journalists (WABJ), has been beneficial for the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Philip Lewis, president of WABJ, said the collaboration emerged from a shared desire to empower journalists to address racial disparities in reporting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs one of the most prominent NABJ chapters, we wanted to use our power to eliminate the imbalance in media coverage,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cWe partnered with the Black and Missing Foundation to create a media guide that helps journalists advocate for these stories in their newsrooms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The guide, compiled by volunteer journalists, outlines strategies for boosting coverage of missing persons of color and serves as a resource for newsroom leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis was a fully volunteer effort,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cIt took hours of collaboration, but we knew it was important to create a tool that can help bring people home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wilson stressed the vital role of the media in recovery efforts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMedia coverage is crucial. It raises community awareness and puts pressure on law enforcement,\u201d she said. \u201cMissing Black children remain missing four times longer than their white counterparts. That\u2019s unacceptable.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The foundation takes a comprehensive approach to supporting families, from filing police reports to launching media campaigns and even helping with burial costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMany families don\u2019t know what to do when a loved one goes missing,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cWe walk with them every step of the way. Our support is holistic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the most powerful examples of the foundation\u2019s impact came after a guest appearance on The View.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe talked about a missing child on air,\u201d Wilson recalled. \u201cWithin 14 minutes, we received a tip that led us directly to her. That\u2019s the power of the media.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But while the foundation works tirelessly to amplify stories, Wilson said the burden also lies with the broader community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s this \u2018no snitching\u2019 mentality that we need to eliminate,\u201d she said. \u201cSomeone knows something. How does someone just vanish and no one knows what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In another recent case, two girls went missing in the District of Columbia. The families reached out to local news stations with no success. Wilson called an NABJ member at NBC4, Executive Producer Melinda Woolbright, who immediately helped secure coverage. The girls were found within hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese stories are real. These families are living nightmares,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cWe\u2019re just here to be their advocates.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lewis echoed that sentiment. \u201cWe\u2019re not superheroes,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we do have the power of words. If we can use that power to bring people home, then we\u2019ve done something meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wilson encourages journalists, influencers and everyday citizens to take action.\u201cIf you want to help, visit BAMFI.org<\/a>,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cUse your platforms. Share these stories. We all have a role to play in finding our missing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kimora Wong Sing When Natalie Wilson co-founded the Black and Missing Foundation in 2008, she made a promise to families too often overlooked: that their missing loved ones would no longer be ignored. The nonprofit […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":3903,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[374,14,239],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3902","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-community-interest","8":"category-latest","9":"category-race-culture"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3902"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3906,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3902\/revisions\/3906"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}