Award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien is investigating why national media entities spend so much time covering cases like the late Gabby Petito, but don’t offer the same level of attention for missing Black Americans, especially Black women and girls like Keeshae Jacobs. O’Brien called into Sway In The Morning to talk about how the series came about and what to expect.
The four-part documentary series, by multiple Emmy® winner Geeta Gandbhir and award-winning documentarian, journalist, author and activist Soledad O’Brien, follows sisters-in-law and Black and Missing Foundation founders Derrica and Natalie Wilson as they fight an uphill battle to bring awareness to the Black missing persons cases that are marginalized by law enforcement and national media.
Haunted by these stories of vanished loved ones and driven by the need for attention and assistance for these forgotten women, former law enforcement officer Derrica and public relations expert Natalie operate a grassroots organization that raises awareness in communities, alerts media outlets to the plight of thousands of women and children and urges police departments to allocate more resources to this scourge. Cases of missing Black people remain unresolved four times longer than those of white people. Black And Missing pulls back the curtain to explore how systemic behaviors and attitudes stem from centuries of deeply rooted racism. The series also exposes the stark disparity in the media coverage of white and black missing persons.
