COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS IN MINNESOTA FIGHT FOR MISSING AND MURDERED BLACK WOMEN

Kaleena Burkes, Director of Minnesota Missing & Murdered Black Women Office/Forum News Service

In April this year, community activists in #Minnesota gathered at the State’s Capitol building in protest. It was a part of the inaugural “Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls Day on the Hill”, which is used to raise awareness about the amount of violence experienced by Black women and young girls.  At the event, people in the community and even family members of Black women and girls who are victims spoke out. 

One of those people at the rally was Lakeisha Lee, whose little sister, Brittany Candy was killed in 2013. She told KARE11 when talking about what happened to her sister, “He met her online, coerced her to come there, and unfortunately, he ended her life,” she said. “We didn’t know where she was, we couldn’t find her. She was found in her car 10 days after she went missing. He murdered her.” She was one of many speakers who spoke out at the rally. 

Crowd Minnesota Missing and Murdered Black Women Rally/ MSR

In 2023, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety created the Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls Office. The office was created to address the disparity in resources toward helping and finding missing and murdered Black Women and young girls. The head of the task force, #KaleenaBurkes told KARE11, “Black women make up 7% of the population here in Minnesota and 40% of the domestic violence cases. Every 3 out of 4 Black women are murdered compared to their White counterparts, so we’re here to address the disparities. Also to help families raise awareness about their cases because oftentimes they’re not met with the same media coverage.”

Crowd Minnesota Missing and Murdered Black Women Rally/ Minnesota Public Department of Safety

Historian, Dr.Yohuru Williams in The Philadelphia Tribune said, “The “Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls Office” will prioritize improving data collection, enhancing public safety, and ensuring that families receive the support they need during investigations.

#MissingAndMurderedBlackWomen #FindBlackWomen #ProtectBlackWomen #BelieveBlackWomen #StopVictimBlaming #BlackWomen

Writer: Rayven Alsobrook (@rayvensierraa), Source: FOX 9 News, KARE11, The Philadelphia Tribune,📸: Forum News Service, MSR, Minnesota Department of Public Safety