{"id":3335,"date":"2021-11-21T09:51:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-21T09:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lauradowrich.com\/?p=3335"},"modified":"2022-01-29T00:42:51","modified_gmt":"2022-01-29T00:42:51","slug":"trini-woman-highlights-missing-black-people-on-new-hbo-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lauradowrich.com\/trini-woman-highlights-missing-black-people-on-new-hbo-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Trini woman highlights missing black people on new HBO series"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
ATrinidadian woman will be featured on a new HBO docu-series aimed at raising awareness on missing people from minority communities in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Black and Missing, a four-part series will look at the work Natalie Wilson, along with her sister-in-law Derrica, has been doing to help families of missing people get the attention and assistance of law enforcement and the media to help in finding their loved ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is bird\u2019s eye view of what families are going through and challenges we face in ensuring they have equal access to resources, the viewers will see how we are working diligently and relentlessly to make sure they have equal access to law enforcement and media resources like their white counterparts,\u201d Wilson told Loop News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The women are founders of the Black and Missing Foundation Inc<\/a>, a non-profit organisation based in Washington DC. The Foundation was established in 2008 to bring awareness to missing people of colour, to assist families in finding their loved ones and to change the way missing minorities are treated in the media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2017, the women werehonoured as Community Change Agents<\/a> for the work they do at BET\u2019s Black Girls Rock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Popular journalist Soledad O\u2019Brian reached out to them following that show to express an interest in telling their story through her production company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is really a testament to our hard work. We put in a lot of hours, to have someone like to notice the impact we were making and to partner with us and take it to another level, we thank her for using her platform and influence to highlight this issue,\u201d said Wilson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The series was originally supposed to be six parts but due to COVID-19 and the lockdown last year, they had to curtail filming and cut the series to four.https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CWN8A58Ayob\/embed\/captioned\/?cr=1&v=14&wp=525&rd=https%3A%2F%2Ftt.loopnews.com&rp=%2Fcontent%2Ftrini-woman-highlights-missing-black-people-new-hbo-series#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A3260.1999999955297%2C%22ls%22%3A3047.6999999955297%2C%22le%22%3A3120.7999999970198%7D<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nevertheless, the series arrives at a time when Afro-Americans, Latino and indigenous communities in the US have been raising their voices to appeal for more interest from law enforcement and the media for their missing relatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These voices grew loudest in recent months following the disappearance of white YouTuber Gabby Petito. Petito disappeared while on a cross-country tour of national parks with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie. Her remains were later found in the Grand Teton National Park<\/a> on September 19. Laundrie\u2019s remains were found on October 20 later at another national park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Petito\u2019s family reported her missing after Laundrie returned to his parents\u2019 home without her, law enforcement deployed several resources to locate her while the media provided daily updates, camping outside Laundrie\u2019s parents\u2019 home to monitor their every move as he was a person of interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the same time, the family of a young black man, Jelani Day, was appealing for the authorities to assist in finding him. The Illinois State University student went missing on August 24 and was found dead days later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His mother, Carmen Bolden Day, told talk show host Tamron Hall that she got angry when she kept seeing reports about Petito when she had to do the work on her own to get her son\u2019s disappearance highlighted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Around that time, the Caribbean community in Florida, too, petitioned for media coverage for 19-year-old Miya Marcano, the daughter of a Trinidadian DJ who went missing from her apartment complex. Marcano was later found dead in a wooded area while the maintenance man suspected of her murder, committed suicide after he was initially questioned by police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n