Diana Nicholson, the mother of Taraha Shenice Nicholson, is comforted during a news conference in Tarboro, N.C.
posted by Sam Richards
Part of this story is about social class…maybe most of it is. I don’t know and nobody does. Race and class are so intertwined that they’re impossible to disentangle. My raised eyebrow to the fool who says it’s all clear to him or her.
All I know is that when I read this story I cannot even possibly imagine that these events would be silenced if the victims were middle class, and certainly not middle class and white. I really don’t expect the media outlets to cover every negative and sad event from across the land, but I have to wonder how much a life is worth and why some lives are worth more than others.
Read the story and chew on the question that is embedded into that last statement. It’s going to take you a few minutes, but it should keep you thinking. HERE IS THE LINK TO THE STORY.
UPDATE: Perhaps you’ve been following the case of the man in Cleveland who tortured and killed 10-11 women whose bodies were buried or hidden in his house in a poor section of the city. The man is black, as were most (perhaps all) of the women. This case juxtaposes well with the one in North Carolina in that the relatives of the missing Cleveland women all report that the police entirely disregarded their attempts to report someone as a “missing person.” In one case the aunt of a missing woman was (purportedly) told to just sit tight because her niece would return “when all of the drugs were gone.” It seems as though the message is the same: the rape, assault, and disappearance (i.e., murder) of poor and marginalized women is not really a public concern.
I think it is crazy that in the case of all of these women who were killed, that something more would have been done if they were actually middle class white women. The bigger question in this case is whether one person’s life is of more value than another’s. My answer to this question would be a resounding NO, but I think that based on this example and others, that societies answer would be a YES. The biggest and most demonstrative example of this I can think of is sweatshops. People in sweatshops around the globe get paid ridiculously low wages for their job. This is also why jobs are being outsourced – because some people’s labor, and lives, are thought to be less important or worth less compensation. I think this is ridiculous, but the fact of the matter is that all over the world this scale on which people are judged is based almost completely on how much money they have. Granted, this often turns into a race issue because people are also judged on race, so the minority race and lower socioeconomic status often go hand in hand. I just can’t fathom how this system came to be. Somewhere through the course of history, Europeans got the idea in their head that they were better than other groups, and then reinforced this belief everywhere they colonized. The craziest thing is that IT IS ALL IN OUR HEADS. The whole idea that one race is better than another is only perpetuated by socialization and enculturation. If no one consciously or subconsciously taught their children that whites were better than blacks then we wouldn’t have a problem! This sounds easy enough, but in reality, it’s nearly impossible. This would involve changing the way every parent thought and also completely transforming the media and how they portray things in TV shows and advertisements. This is not going to happen in my lifetime. But the fact that there is still such a race issue that the same action is not taken when a black woman is killed as is when a white woman is killed is NOT COOL. In this example, the target of my anger would be the law enforcement officials who were involved in this and other related examples. There needs to be a more enforced code of conduct. When someone, ANYONE, is reported missing, something needs to be done immediately. I simply can’t believe that police told one missing woman’s aunt that she would return ‘after the drugs wore off’! This is just another example when race becomes a really important issue. Racial jokes and passing derogatory names are one thing, but when someone’s life and general well-being are at stake, something needs to be changed.
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As I read this story I became very saddened to know that people were being killed and no one was attempting to find their killer. I didn’t know the race of the women when I first read the blog and I still felt remorse. I first heard of this story two weeks ago in my Soc 119 discussion group but I didn’t know all the details. This story is extremely gruesome. As I read more of the details I think that the social class of the woman has something to do with the reason it has not gained national attention. These women have been missing for years. The town that the killings are taking place in is a small town and could have something to do with the reason there hasn’t been much media attention. If the killings were happening in a bigger town the news would have picked up on it sooner. The media might have been on the scene before the police were. The fact that the town has more black residents than white residents leads me to believe the people in the town didn’t mind having some black people killed to even the number. This theory is also backed by the fact the mayor of the town didn’t even bother to show support at the vigil. He used the excuse that he wasn’t invited. How does the mayor of 60,000 person city not know when a vigil is taking place about murders in his city? That is absurd. He knew about the vigil and decided not to come. The people of color in the city went to a white person’s vigil to show support because as a town you should come together in times of need.
I also think the fact that these women were prostitutes and addicts had a lot to do with why no one bothered with the case. The police department probably felt like someone was doing them a favor by getting the prostitutes off the streets. They thought the other town residents wouldn’t care because essentially these women did nothing good for the town. Most of these women were drug addicts so the media most likely didn’t think it would be a good story. The media might have thought that no one would care because these women were bringing society down with themselves. People don’t value life like they should and it’s really sad. The police were probably happy to see it continue so they wouldn’t actually have to clean the streets. They must have been satisfied with what was happening because they didn’t make any moves to stop it. I shouldn’t say that, they did arrest one man and they will try to connect all the murders to him like the justice system always does or tries to do.
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It’s obvious that when there are missing persons reports filed that the media focuses largely on middle class Caucasians that go missing. The reasoning behind this perplexes me in that I do not understand the value added that this type of media coverage brings to American society. Granted the majority of the United States is Caucasian, but we still do have a large portion of our population that are people of color. Wouldn’t it be fair to give the same amount of media coverage that is given to a white woman, to a black woman if they are of equal age and status? Even if you weren’t to consider status and look beyond that and focus on the fact that a human being has gone missing, a human being with family and friends, a human being that does what he or she can to benefit themselves and the rest of society on a day to day basis. Apparently the media doesn’t see everyone as human beings. Well, at least if they do, some human beings are more important than others; otherwise all colors and genders would get equal coverage. As mentioned in the article as a society we have come a long way in terms of the availability of information. Technology and science have helped to solve many murders and missing cases reports, and it would only be fair to give coverage to those less fortunate or those that are people of color to help them in locating their loved ones. Even when a certain white person goes missing, people like Nancy Grace butcher the story to the point where people begin not to care as much as they use to when they initially heard of the reports. My first impression to a new report once it is deemed butchered is, that I’m sure there are other news reports that can be covered in this moment in time, this white person can’t be the only white person missing in all of the Untied states of America. It’s discomforting that news stations do not screen these type of news reports that get shoved down a viewers throat. It is important to give others a chance in finding their loved one. But if you a person of color you do not get the same attention, and this is because racism still exists in America whether people will agree with it or not. It is things like this that put a stigma upon people of color, it’s a sort of institutional perpetuating racism agenda where Caucasians can one up people of color, seem more important, and overall distinguish their role or place in society compared to others. I hope that someday this may end and that I live to see this day.
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This story was disturbing to read. I hadn’t heard a word about this before reading this blog entry. If I made the time to immerse myself in news and current events around the world, I may have heard of this. But regardless, this is a story that wasn’t getting attention from the media, and I want to know why. Had this tragedy taken place in State College, PA, it would have been a breaking news story covered by every major news network across the United States. In a matter of days, hours, minutes.
In response to some other people who are saying “Where are the families? And why aren’t they taking action?” These women that have gone missing have been classified as “all African-American, many were poor, and some had criminal histories including drug abuse and prostitution.” I may be stereotyping, but I doubt that many of these women had the family that had the MONEY to make an impact, even if/when they tried.
Sam wrote in this entry, “but I have to wonder how much a life is worth and why some lives are worth more than others.” So I gather that he believes that someone, or some entity, is placing more value on some people than other people. That has been the theme of a lot of what we talk about in Soc 119. It seems like the media values middle-class people, particularly those that are white. Well given that the media is driven by middle-upper class white people, this makes a whole lot of sense.
Based on my experiences, and ideas learned from classes I’ve taken in college, I’ve found this to be true. In a video promoting the cause for Invisible Children, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to peacefully ending the war in Northern Uganda, this idea is exposed. “Our culture is determined by three forces: Money, Media, and Moguls,” is what the video claims. “Money makes the world go ‘round. The media decides what stories in the world are worth telling. And moguls compete for the attention of the media. Which makes them both money. And this cycle repeats itself over and over again. Defining and redefining our priorities.” You should watch it. It’s actually a pretty sweet video, and an amazing cause.
http://www.invisiblechildren.com/media/videos/detail.php?id=1674150070
But the issues still stands, we’ve got important white people controlling and fueling the media. It’s this crazy cycle of white people giving us (the public) what we want to hear, see, know. Which is ironically, and embarrassingly, more crap about upper-class celebrities. We must be feeding the requests that are being met. We (me and you) are the indirectly the individuals saying that these white rich people are more important. Or at least more interesting. When does it become our responsibility as society to change this? To me, it’s right now. I am embarrassed.
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This particular article has me very torn on two different perspectives of why the missing women from Rocky Mountain, NC did not get the media coverage they deserved. The local NAACP chapter president proclaims that these women didn’t get the media coverage simply because of the color of their skin. I would agree that race was a factor in this, but not the only factor. It was said that many of these women were poor and some over had a history of drugs and prostitution. Some in the community even speculated that these murders were out of revenge from someone contracting HIV from one of the prostitutes. In the society we live in it is not as shocking to the masses when a prostitute goes missing as a middle class suburban girl. The community tried helping by using a reward and buying advertisement space to put the victim’s picture, however they used mug shots where the victims looked intoxicated. The billboards obviously backfired because in the horrible world we live in most people overlooked these missing women because of their social status. After the fifth woman went missing the media started covering the story, Knight, the local NAACP chapter president was scheduled to be on the Nancy Grace show was cancelled because of a woman missing in Georgia. The studio proclaimed that the change was made because this white woman’s story was breaking that day. The community was outraged when it took six years to raise $20,000 for the reward of these missing women, and only three days to match that for the graduate student at Yale. The graduate student was a wealthy, intelligent bright young woman with many community ties that helped aid in the reward. Many if not all of the women missing in NC were diseased prostitutes, criminals, and drug addicts. The NAACP and Newsweek proclaimed several times throughout the article that the missing women in NC didn’t get the same attention as other missing women because of their race. Annie Le, the grad student from Yale was of Asian heritage and it wasn’t the girl’s race that led to her assistance in her search. I’m willing to bet it wouldn’t take 6 doctors to go missing before the media started covering the story regardless of their race. When a candlelight vigil occurred in the town only the black officials attended and Knight proclaimed “They [white officials] didn’t have an excuse, they just didn’t come.” It seems as if this particular NAACP president is very quick to assume that the white officials in his town must not care about the missing women, again because of their race. The mayor of Rocky Mountain stated that he did not know the vigil was occurring because he wasn’t invited. These women deserved the same respect as anyone else. It seems as if the community they lived in was quick to assume that the women’s race was the reason for inaction. Although race is almost always an underlying factor for issues like this, I stand by my belief that their social status made the story less groundbreaking to the media than other similar stories. Knight the NAACP chapter president said it best: “Regardless of drug addiction or other problems, that still doesn’t give a person the right to kill another. If we can give a terrorist a day in court, we can get these women justice.”
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Missing people and minorities is a very interesting topic that I have thought about several times. I have seen such a story before on Law and Order, and it is just amazing how this is not just one or two rare cases but it is a daily occurrence. It is very unfortunate that if you are a minority or in the poor class you do not get any news coverage. It is interesting how Sam says that race and class is intertwined, which is very true to some degree. Race and class go hand in hand and for the most part since poor people that are minorities do not seem to be appealing to the public, they are not given a chance to be in the spot light for police and the news. It is interesting that in a world that we live in today, we try and think America is one of the best societies and that we have overcome adversity and have become one. But when you look at cases like the ones in this article you see how different our world is and how race still plays a role in practically everything still. Inequality is one thing when it comes to jobs, schools, and other stuff, but when it comes to a missing person how can we depict one life being more valuable than another, this is just out right wrong. It is disgusting to realize that such things happen to families below the middle class and those that are minorities, it is enough that they have to deal with the pain and loss of their loved ones, but this is despicable. I cannot imagine being in the same shoes as them, with not getting the same footage or respect for their child missing as other cases dealing with the middle class. But this type of treatment is everyday in the police and news agencies, which is very unfortunate. When we look at the events that took place in this article, if instead these women were white, these events and women would be on the front page of every newspaper and news channeled as soon as one person died or went missing. When we stop and think about this, why does our society allow this to happen? Is it because we do not know any better? Or is it just money? Regardless of the reasons, it is just very sad that it took so many women to die or go missing before someone took responsibility and control. I wish our country valued every life equally, but I guess this is just the world we live in. It is sad to believe such a huge crime is not reported on the news to the rest of the country right away, but I guess stories like these are not perceived as appealing to the public. I can completely understand how troubling and frustrating this may be to the families of the victims as well as the communities at large that cops and the news have not done enough to help. If a white person in the middle class went missing or were murdered it would be different, it would bring massive attention, but yet in the case in North Carolina it took a bunch of years and a few women to go missing or be murdered before even any media attention was captured. It is a proven fact that cases get solved quicker based on pure publicity and with cases like these they are left to rot. It is very sad to hear such stories like these, I just wish that one day we realize that every life is meaningful and how important it is that we come together to solve every case and publicize it to better help the victims families.
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This story goes back to so many issues that we have. The media only shows what they want and they filter everything out therefore making everyone unaware of such important news such as this. The other issue is that everything in America is about money. You can guarantee that if this was in an upper class neighborhood this would have been breaking news on every news channel! This makes me feel so sorry for the families and friends of these victims. Supposedly everyone in America is equal right? So why aren’t we making people aware of this issue and completely disregarding the fact that they were lower class black women? I do understand that everything is run by money and without the money nothing happens. But these are people that are being killed and money should have no effect on whether or not this story gets recognition. Obviously the media is not worried about the fact that a human being as gone missing, they do not actually care. It all just comes down to how much they are getting paid to air the story. As I really think back on the news that I have watched through the years I cannot seriously remember one example of a black man, child, or women that has gone missing shown on a news channel. Maybe this is me not watching enough news but really that is absurd to think about it! I am sure that are just as many cases as black people going missing than there are white people so why don’t we hear about them? Once again it all comes down to race and class. Maybe the fact that they had occupations that are normally looked down upon had something to do with this story going unheard of. I do not exactly have a straight answer for this but how can someone not have the compassion to air such a tragic story to the nation. I know I am not the only person who cares about this and if this story would have been aired a long time ago I have a feeling that the good people of the United States would have been interested in helping. I think that even if these would have been lower class white people the story still would have been aired on the news. It is so sad that everything has to go back to race. I hope that one day the people of our country can look past race, social class, and money and focus on the real issues. The real issue is that these women were not given a chance to live and were taken away from their family and friends not they were poor and black.
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ok so I didn’t hear about these murders but I do find it very strange that hey have not mentioned that there is a serial killer on the loose. I mean bad community or rich this is not the way to be treated. If I lived in that area I would be outraged about how law enforcement has decided to handle the deaths. If I was one of the victims family member or friend I would be very angry at police and I would not think that they are doing anything to help find the killer. These women I believe were not mentioned in the media because of there lifestyles. They might have been prostitutes, uneducated, or whatever but they had families just like you and I do. It is amazing to me how human beings can treat one another. I wonder how the stories would have been portrayed if the victims were white. Not every victim that dies can be portrayed on the news but that is a story that needed to be heard by people. I mean 10 fucking women dead yeah I think we should have been informed earlier or maybe if the law enforcement in town had shed some light on the problem then they just might have saved one of the victims life’s. Another thing that comes to mind is that are they saying that these women were disposable. Less prostitutes on the street. A life is a life whether the person decided to do good or bad with it. it does not mean that they deserved to be murdered. I would not even wish murder on my worst enemy. Then to make matters worse the murders have been going on for awhile now. How can law enforcement be so careless and 10 deaths not 1 not 2 BUT TEN that a lot of fucking dead women. Now that I think about could the killer be someone of high class among that community or could it be one of there very own cops. Usually when you hear about missing people it is usually a white middle class educated women or a child. You never hear them say breaking news black women missing from her home was last seen at so and so any info call police or the tip line at so and so. I am upset at this. This just goes to show you that the media only shows us what they want us to know about the world. I just want to say that my heart goes out to the victims families. These women may have been doing wrong but they were someones mom, sister, cousin, aunt, and friend. I just hope that they do find this sick son of a bitch as soon as possible and I hope that the law enforcement down there gets their shit together because I sure if it was ten white women this shit would have already been solved and the killer would have been rotten in jail or even executed by now.
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It is hard to believe that something like the women being murdered at Rocky Mount is actually happening and no one has heard about it. Pointing fingers at people gets you no were, but racism and class groups do exist, and it is hard to get around that. Regardless of all this no human being deserves to be murdered no matter what race or class. These women had disadvantages, but it is not entirely the media's fault for not picking up on the story. People are murdered all the time and usually only people in that county know about it unless the person happens to be rich, famous, or important in some way. Even then, maybe the whole state knows about it, but rarely the entire country, unless it is a serial killing.
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Many of the people in the town say the killings are linked together and that this point is obvious. Well, what is obvious to some is not obvious to others. The cops, I would hope, are trying their best, but what they see may be different the community. So who is right? Well, it depends on what people look for. This article holds bias in that it is geared to make people help, but facts could be tweaked of left out. However, I do not believe it was done on purpose but rather people see what they want to see. If someone believes racism is the cause for this then when they look at the facts that is what they will pin point. If someone else believes the police are not doing their job then they will simple see that when looking at everything going on. With all that said, I do believe the situation could and should have been handling better. Blame should not be given to one thing, but too many people because we are all to blame.
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The police should have communicated better with the state and government officials. The government, once they found out, should have done something such has get the media's attention. The media, once slowly finding out about the story should have taken more interest instead of putting the story on the back burner. I will admit if these women were white, I am almost positive the media would have taken quicker interest. The town people with the best intentions are forgetting that most people who see flyers ignore them even if there is money for information especially if the pictures are people that look like they should be in prison. People make mistakes, but what society should do now is help the best they can and help lay this horrible crime to rest. We are all people, and we all deserve the same treatment.
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I do find it ridiculous that it took police and national television that long to bring attention to 10 to 11 rape and murder victims. At the same time, it's even more mind-bogglilng that ONE murdered white woman in Georgia could make breaking news immediately after the occurance. It just goes to show you that we do still have underlying racial feelings and judgments that people (mainly the media) choose to ignore or wave away. It's only been about five decades since the Civil Rights Movement, but that should have been enough time to progress as a country and our attitudes as a whole. White people, especially those with a decent standard of living, are the power house of the media and American culture, so naturally, when a white person has something done to them, (especially by someone of a different race), fingers are automatically pointed and assumptions are drawn. The issue that has been going on in North Carolina does not surprise me by any means, but it does sadden me a lot. It just makes me wonder when our country will ever put skin color aside, and really focus on the real issue at hand. Hopefully soon…
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Reading this article I was surprised at first as to why this story hadn’t been reported in mainstream media, especially because of the longevity of the killings. However, after you put down the article and start thinking about what most media outlets report, it becomes pretty clear why this isn’t breaking news on CNN or FOX News.
When you think about the unbelievable crimes reported in mainstream media the common trend among the victims is that they’re white, middle-class, educated, females. Why are these the crimes reported? Because think about the people working at a news station. There are very few people of color working the news, and probably none who are poor and uneducated. Not only that but the stories reported are the ones that news people think the public will care about and tune into hear, and the public wants to hear stories about people that they can relate to (middle-class, white etc), which means that we have countless stories about stupid things like “balloon boy,” but a tragedy like this goes unnoticed.
So, why is this? Why don’t people care to hear about these stories? Probably one of the biggest reasons is that a lot of people will try to tell themselves that these victims did something to “deserve” what happened to them. For some reason people can’t accept the fact that tragedy can happen to anyone, in any social class, of any race. Instead, they choose to think that since this victim was poor or had a criminal record, she must have brought whatever happened to her on to herself. When you justify a crime in this way, it no longer becomes news worthy; it no longer seems like a tragedy, just a case of karma.
This way of thinking is bullshit, because people would never say this out loud. They wouldn’t say that a murder victim got what they deserved, but they’re thinking it just the same and that’s what helps relieve their guilt for not caring. I guarantee if in the same day a little girl from a wealthy, white, neighborhood and a little girl from the projects were kidnapped, we would only hear about one of them. People today have become so skilled at holding two contradictory convictions in their head at the same time and unfortunately more people will suffer because of it, because people just don’t care enough about people that are different from them.
So what should media do? Should every report of gang violence, drug violence, school violence be on the news each night? That’d be a little impractical, but what should be done is that significant crimes shouldn’t be swept under the rug because of a victim’s background. If you have enough time to dissect every nuance of the “Octomom” story, then you sure as hell better make time to report a tragedy like the one in North Carolina
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I had heard previously about the story in Ohio of the man killing all the women and hiding their bodies in his backyard. The amazing thing about this story was that people had complained about the smell for months, yet nothing was done about it. It shocked me to hear about this second story and once again the lack of media attention. It just goes to show what people can get away with if they target the right audience. "No, Mr. Serial Killer, kill the black bitches, no-one will ever find out. Seriously, Never." But don't kidnap a white lady who is taking a stroll around her 'hood. Not only will the police be tracking you with all types of electronic gadgets, a reward will be offered for her safe return within minutes of her abduction. It's saddening the America I have grown up in has come to such pathetic markers for what they will and will not condemn. This story was just about some dead black prostitutes who most likely overdosed in an alley and were unclaimed in a morgue. It sickens me to say this but there is a very small point there. After all, what benefit did they share to society by selling themselves on the street? They damn sure did not feed their kids with the money they earned. And after all, they do have 3 or 4, maybe even 5 kids. And they probably have 6 different dads anyway, so now we really shouldn't give a damn. But, this girl went missing from college, and this one was a contributing (legally) member to society. So let's find them! As soon as possible! Now please! Let's offer 20,000 dollars for just one safe return. Let's offer 20,000 dollars six years later for numerous safe returns! Why do we believe benefits/aid should come only as a result of who we are, what we look like, and what we do. What happened to just helping people? Just people? Not white, black, brown, yellow, and red? Not fat, skinny, tall, short, blind, or deaf? What can we say for ourselves as people when we hear something like this and go about our daily existence? What are we doing? I count myself lucky to be in the company of a university. I do not have to be haunted by the nightmare of being hunted in the street like and a dog then buried like one in somebody's backyard. I'm glad I'm in college, so one day if I do go missing, they can speak of the time I spent here on campus. I just hope they don't post a picture of my Identification Card. Because, then no one in America would give a hot damn about me. "Just another nigger who couldn't handle the pressure and ran away." Most people black/white alike would think or say that, The funny thing is, they would do this based on my black face alone.
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My 22nd birthday is on Monday, which I completely forgot until one day ago when my girlfriend so politely asked me what restaurant I would prefer for my birthday dinner. This uncharacteristic slip up put a lot of things in perspective for me. Just a year ago, I was strategically planning out my strategy for the perfect night to ring in the precious 21st year of my life. My key to alcoholic freedom and utter independence in current society. This semester is actually going to be my last ever at Penn State University. For some reason, the true meaning of that fact never hit me until it actually arrived. Suddenly friendships and everyday luxuries become more than what they were originally perceived to be. You realize that the decisions you will make will affect the very way your life will go. Every decision suddenly seems as if you have come upon a fork in the road and must choose the next land to venture. Suddenly you begin to view how girlfriends would seem as wives and mothers of your children..this is a very odd reality of this age.
I have found myself taking an interest in the lives of those around me, such as my younger brother and older sister. Suddenly I see them as the two people who will have the greatest grasp of my past as I begin to age…another terribly odd reality of this age.
I have began valuing my parents and all of the sacrifices they have made for me throughout my life, beginning to realize that I must take the reigns of my life and steer them in a direction that will benefit them in a way proportional of the way they have benefited me.
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Being from a predominately African American and urban community, i can be the first to provide testament, that i bear witness to the lack of media coverage in urban communities. In my community, African Americans, often get murdered, raped, and robbed, without anyone getting prosecuted, or even arrested. This is partly due to the fact that the news stations rarely come into these neighborhoods and cover these stories.I can only assume the reasons why the media rarely covers these stories. One reason may be due to the fact that most Americans that follow the news, pay little attention to the lives of the inner city ghettos and its ailments. Another reason may be due to the fact that if it doesn't pertain to middle class America, the rest of America could care less. This is sad but true. America has manifested this idea of African Americans as being barbaric and animalistic. They have become used to the fact that African Americans shoot each other, and commit other acts of violence on one another. Most Americans look at the crime that occurs in inner city America as something of minute importance. Most americans feel as though, if their "kind" isn't involved in the crime in the inner city, then they have no point in caring or causing an up roar.
Moreover, crimes in inner city America persist because of the lack of media coverage. If the media would cover these crimes, then maybe criminals could get prosecuted and the crime level could drop. With out media coverage criminals continue to walk around and commit these crimes. Without the help of the media, crime rates are drastically affected. and continue to rise.
Further, and if the media covers a story, African Americans are portrayed on a bad light. African Americans are often portrayed stereotypically.For example, in the early 1990's , a white man claimed his wife was killed and he was attacked by a black man. A lot of anger towards blacks surfaced. Throughout the case, the black community was suspicious of the truth in the man's story and he was later found to have committed the crime himself.
On the specific issue of missing people in African American Communities, there is a low reporting rate of this. According to the National Center for Misiing and Exploited Children, approximately 300,000 children under the age eighteen are reported missing annually. Of those, thirty-three percent are black, despite being only thirteen percent of the national population. The FBI reports that minorities make up a larger portion of missing victims than the national population. For example, in 2005, Holloway became a household name after she disappeared on a school trip in Aruba. However, a year earlier, one African American man was trying to gain media attention for his niece, Tamika Houston, by having family members help distribute flyers, he also held a press conference and created a website, ultimately, the story was mainly ignored by mainstream media. This case is not an isolated incident, this story is just one of thousands.
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