Girl Vow, Inc. Presents What About Us: The Third Annual NYC Candle Light Vigil for Missing and
Murdered Women and Girls of Color.
because when black women and girls are safe, everyone is safe!””
— Lakeisha Lee, Sister of Brittany Clardy
THE BRONX, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, November 3, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — Girl Vow, Inc. & The NYS Taskforce for Missing & Murdered Women & Girls of Color presents our the Third NYC Annual Candle Light Vigil for Missing and Murdered Women and Girls on November 3, 2023, from 5:45 PM – 7:00 PM to be held at the City Hall Park located near the fountain.
Did you know that In 2020, of the 268,884 girls and women who were reported missing, 90,333, or nearly 34% of them, were Black, according to the National Crime Information Center? Meanwhile, Black girls and women account for only about 15% of the U.S. female population, according to census data. The high rate at which girls of color go missing isn’t reflected in news coverage of missing persons’ cases. Latinx people are considered white.
In light of so many recent missing girls of color in New York and around the nation, Girl Vow is working to launch an NYS Taskforce consisting of a well-cultivated team to tackle the prolonged invisible needs of missing and murdered BIPOC women and girls of color. Sponsored by Senator Webb and Assembly Member Reyes (S4266A Webb/A5088A Reyes), $750,000 in this year’s state budget was allocated to fund the NYS BIPOC Task Force legislation, which would create a nine-person state panel to address the epidemic of missing and murdered Black, Indigenous, and Women and Girls of Color and to make sure that when they go missing or are murdered, their cases are treated with the care and concern that they and their families deserve.
Additionally, the NYS BIPOC Task Force would be charged with developing policies to increase community
education and to identify hubs where abductions are more likely to occur. The National Taskforce for Missing and Murdered Women and Girls of Color is a response to solving the pervasive silence when girls/women of color are missing, murdered, and unnoticed. Our mission is to organize to advance beyond the issues of colorism and racial, economic, and structural oppression with communities at the helm of change.
Said Senator Lea Webb: “We have an epidemic of missing BIPOC Women and Girls in the US and in New York State the numbers keep rising. Today, I stand with the advocates and families gathered together for the third annual Candle-Light Vigil for Missing and murdered Women and Girls of Color. I urge Governor Hochul to take important steps toward a safer New York for all women and girls, by signing the NYS BIPOC Task Force Bill (S4266A Webb/A5088A Reyes). This legislation will establish a task force to address this gap in care and concern for BIPOC victims of abduction and human trafficking, educate communities to prevent disappearances, and identify the major hubs in New York where abductions occur. By signing the BIPOC Task Force legislation, Governor Hochul could take important steps toward a safer New York for all women and girls, addressing this epidemic of missing and murdered women and girls.”
“Girl Vow is a beacon of hope for missing women and girls of color in New York,” said Assemblywoman Karines Reyes, (D-Bronx), chair of the Assembly & Senate Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force. “In collaboration with them, we are working to improve our criminal justice and social service supports for these women and their families.”We can no longer wait on silent systems to solve community crises. The needs of girls of color often go unsolved or under-prioritized, leading to prolonged suffering for families and communities. Our family systems are devastated. Legislative reform is necessary to bring about meaningful change to ensure the world is balanced for all of us – All we ask is to find us while we are missing and not when we are murdered – says Dawn Rowe, Founder of NYS Taskforce and Girl Vow, Inc.
“Black women and girls deserve resources for their safety. Historically, Black women and girls have been disadvantaged but still have overcome tremendous barriers with little or nothing! Knowing this, it should be a priority for lawmakers to support black women and their families because when black women and girls are safe, everyone is safe!” Lakeisha Lee, Sister of Brittany Clardy – Minnesota State Taskforce
Learn more at www.girlvow.org & follow Girl Vow on IG at @girlvow and @taskforceformissing
Dawn Rowe
GIRL VOW
+1 6466481119
email us here
Originally published at https://www.einpresswire.com/article/666085501/girl-vow-inc-presents-the-third-annual-nyc-candle-light-vigil-for-missing-and-murdered-women-and-girls-of-color