California Rolls Out New ‘Ebony Alert’ to Prioritize Search for Missing Black Children

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Sunday signed a bill into law that will prioritize the search for missing black children.

The “Ebony Alert” will go into effect on January 1.

“Data shows that Black and brown, our indigenous brothers and sisters, when they go missing there’s very rarely the type of media attention, let alone AMBER alerts and police resources that we see with our white counterparts,” Democrat state Senator Steven Bradford, creator of the legislation, told NBC News earlier this year.

NBC News reported:

California’s newly enacted “Ebony Alert” law is the first of its kind in the nation to prioritize the search for Black youth gone missing.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 673 into law on Sunday, making California the first state to create an alert notification system — similar to an Amber Alert — to address the crisis of missing Black children and young women.

The law, which will go into effect on Jan. 1, will allow the California Highway Patrol to activate the alert upon request from local law enforcement when a Black youth goes missing in the area. The Ebony Alert will utilize electronic highway signs and encourage use of radio, TV, social media and other systems to spread information about the missing persons’ alert. The Ebony Alert will be used for missing Black people aged 12 to 25.

Some black people are not happy about the “Ebony Alert” and called it racist.

Have you heard of the Ebony Alert? This woman is not happy about it. pic.twitter.com/UBk3hzhbXW

— Dr. Jebra Faushay (@JebraFaushay) October 10, 2023

Democrat State Senator Steven Bradford defended his racist legislation in an interview with TMZ: