Ten Teens Have Went Missing In D.C.

March 23, 2017- Almost a dozen Black and Latinx teens have been missing in the Washington, D.C. area, but the media coverage for this epidemic has been very minimal. All the teens are women except one. This story first surfaced on social media early two weeks ago, but hasn’t gained much attention outside of Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The only other outlets that have mentioned their disappearance have been select websites including the Huffington Post, Teen Vogue, and The Root.

Washington D.C. police department’s twitter account has also issued a series of tweets covering the disappearance of these teens. However, these tweets weren’t very helpful or insightful. According to citizens in the D.C. area, local news stations on television and radio as well as newspaper, have somewhat covered this tragedy but not to the extent that it should be. Despite the lack of coverage by major television and print media outlets, people on social media have taken the initiative to educate others about the sudden disappearance of black and brown people near our nation’s capital

Twitter user @BlackGirlMarvel was one of the catalysts in spreading the news of the missing Black and Brown children via social media. When @BlackGirlMarvel tweeted on March 12th that eight black girls had been missing, her posts accumulated over 35,000 retweets in 12 hours. She wrote, “It takes 3.2 seconds to retweet and help find these 8 BLACK GIRLS reported missing in Washington D.C. during the past 3 days”.

The age difference ranges between 13 and 16 years old for the individuals who are missing. Fortunately, two teens, Taylor Innis and Antwan Jordan, have been found safe and in good health. Also, this isn’t the first time the city has experienced this. Back in January, the city had a similar issue when there were 15 open cases of missing girls at once. It is believed that sex-trafficking may be the bigger issue that’s plaguing D.C. Sex trafficking is the second fastest growing criminal industry in the country, according to The U.S. Department of Justice, with children making up about half of the victims.

What’s puzzling about this situation is the lack of mainstream coverage. Where is CNN, Fox, MSNBC, ABC and any other major news channels? Without social media, no one would be advocating for these Black and Latinx teens. It raises the idea of how the phenomenon “missing white woman syndrome” comes to play in these instances. This phenomenon, which was coined by PBS reporter Gwen Ifill, is a common term used by some African-American households. It states that the media has a fascination with young, attractive white women who go missing- especially if they’re from an upper or middle class background. Versus women of color or anyone else who doesn’t fit that description. One infamous case was in 2005 when Natalee Holloway disappeared in Aruba and there was non-stop media coverage of her case.

When ten teenagers are missing within a matter of weeks in a particular city, that should make the front page of newspapers- regardless of their ethnic background or socio-economic class. Now, as this story is spreading through social media, a few celebrities have posted things are their pages to give these women of color a voice. There is still hardly any information about the disappearance of whereabouts of the individuals. People have used the hashtag #bringbackourgirls to bring awareness of what’s going on. Hopefully as this story spreads across social media, it’ll draw the attention of other mainstream media outlets and pressure them to talk about the missing children in D.C.

Colin Kaepernick Struggles To Find A New Team

San Francisco, Calif- March 22, 2017- Free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick has opted out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers earlier this month, but a NFL team has yet to sign to him. It is speculated that teams are hesitant to offer him a contract due to his stance on racial justice issues in America, which have been highly publicized.

Kaepernick gained a lot of media attention when he first took a knee during the national anthem before games last fall. This stirred up much controversy between fans, politicians and sports commentators alike and before the election, Donald Trump has stated, “I think it's personally not a good thing. I think it's a terrible thing." Previously, those who criticized Kaepernick accused him for not using his “privilege” and money to help communities rather than just taking a knee. However, the quarterback proved his naysayers wrong. After pledging to donate $1 million in charity, he gave money to local organizations in the Bay Area, held a clinic to empower young black men, donated money to support the Standing Rock protests, and donated his enormous shoe collection to charity in less than a year.

According to a Bleacher Report article, one unnamed AFC general manager mentioned “...Some teams fear the backlash from fans after getting him (Colin Kaepernick). They think there might be protests or Trump will tweet about the team.” The manager also added that some teams “genuinely hate him and can’t stand what he did”. It hasn’t been confirmed if by “teams” the anonymous manager is referring to the fans, coaches, or other managers in the NFL. Trump, who is no stranger when it comes to calling out people he doesn’t agree with, has already criticized Kaepernick for not being offered contracts via Twitter, at a Trump rally in Louisville, and to other media outlets.

Despite teams not weighing in on his talents but rather how he addresses social issues, Colin Kaepernick has continued to use his platform and resources to help disenfranchised citizens. This week, he has donated $50,000 to the Meals on Wheels program which may lose funding from the government. And another $50,000 to the Love For Somalia campaign, which will give food and water to Somalis experiencing a historic famine.

What is even more puzzling about Kaepernick’s situation is that he is one of the best offensive players in the NFL. Just looking at his statistics and postseason appearances alone, he is a player who can definitely make a positive impact on any team. It raises the question, can professional athletes have public opinions on politics and social issues without any repercussions? Also, why is him taking a knee months ago being overshadowed by all the positive work he’s currently doing?

It has been confirmed from ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Kaepernick will no longer take a knee during the national anthem. It is believed that he decided to do this in hopes of landing a contract with a new team. Through all the negativity from the public, and apprehension from NFL organizations, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh has been a ray of light for the quarterback.  Harbaugh has revealed to the media that he told teams that Colin Kaepernick can still be great and help them win championships if they give him a chance.

ASU President Calls a Group of US-born Alumi International Students

Tempe, Ariz., March 2, 2017- A group of women who are Arizona State University alumni as well as American-born citizens, were called international students by the university’s president in an article released two weeks ago. According to Nshawh Ahmad, the ASU alum who has been the most vocal about this incident and also included in a photo included with the article. She feels that she was profiled by the university. Ahmad stated that her and her two friends were assumed to be international students because her and another woman were wearing head scarves known as hijabs.

    In the article titled “Why We Need International Students”, ASU president Michael Crow wrote: “Inviting foreign students to study in the United States doesn’t just create jobs, it also brings in perspectives that can help the United States solve complex global challenges”. As a response to Trump’s Muslim ban, he also wrote “It’s important to recognize how significant the impact may be on international students studying here and the institutions that both educate and depend on them.”  However, the Arizona State’s president failed at his attempt by categorizing a group of alumni as foreign exchange students just by the way they looked.

    Nshwah mentioned, “It’s offensive because especially in today’s current political climate, it’s one that is trying to erase the Arab and Muslim identity as Americans” regarding the situation. She feels that the dialogue in this country is that people cannot be both Muslim and American. Like how Ahmad has previously stated, with the political climate in this country, this was a big mistake that Arizona State’s president has made that could possibly deter potential international students from studying at the university. “By trying to seem accepting they went ahead and racially profiled us and it came off as more racist than anything,” Ahmad said. Her, the two other women in the photo, and their friends and families felt that the university should have asked permission for their image to published and had done their researched on who was actually in the photo.

    Since Nshwah Ahmad has asked her peers to share her story on social media, it has gained much attention in Arizona’s local communities, and even caught the attention of people in other states and other countries on the internet. Soon after, President Michael Crow has issued a public apology to all three girls. Ahmad has contemplated on taking legal action against the university, but so far there has not been any updates if she has or not. In the end, she feels that someone should be accountable for this and wants to make sure this never happens again to other people.

Photos are courtesy of Ahmad's Instagram page and are being used with permission.