Awareness is key. I have taken the organization from a vision in our living room to The View. I’ve been able to get families on everything from community news outlets to national news and talk shows. As a result of the awareness, we have been able to locate or provide closure to close to 400 missing persons cases.
As part of my series about “individuals and organizations making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Natalie Wilson, Co-Founder, Black & Missing.
Natalie is a seasoned public relations and media relations professional and the co-founder of the Black and Missing Foundation, INC (BAMI). Black and Missing brings awareness to missing people of color, educates the minority community on personal safety, and provides vital resources to help family and friends of missing persons. She was part of the 2021 Women of Worth honoree class.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
The Black and Missing Foundation was inspired by a missing woman. In 2004, 24-year-old Tamika Huston vanished from her home in Spartanburg, SC. It wasn’t widespread news coverage of the case that caught our attention. Just the opposite — the fact that the case received such little media attention inspired us to act.
I wanted to use my close to two decades of expertise in public relations and media relations as the publicist for the hundred of thousands of missing persons of color so that their cases can get visibility and their names can be household names too.
Can you describe how you or your organization is making a significant social impact?
With more than 240,000 people of color reported missing every year, thousands of people like Tamika Huston are never given a voice, platform or visibility to be found. Although media coverage has historically focused on blonde, blue-eyed female victims, more than 40% of all those missing in the U.S. are people of color. That’s why BAMFI is grounded in a mission to bring awareness to missing people of color, to educate the minority community on personal safety, and to provide vital resources to their family and friends. BAMFI also utilizes a variety of media platforms including print, television, radio and social media to help locate missing persons.
Awareness is key. I have taken the organization from a vision in our living room to The View. I’ve been able to get families on everything from community news outlets to national news and talk shows. As a result of the awareness, we have been able to locate or provide closure to close to 400 missing persons cases.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
Race shouldn’t be a barrier to media coverage and law enforcement support. Even though we’ve been sounding the alarm for 14 years, there is still more work to do.
Here are the challenges and possible opportunities for change:
(1) Database and accurate reporting
The data available is not robust or reliable to paint a full picture of the magnitude of the problem. We believe the numbers are much higher based on the following info:
Causes of underreporting:
All missing Latinos are being classified as white although research has shown at least 24% classify themselves as Afro-Latino, otherwise identifying as Black.
No one is keeping track of the whereabouts of those who are homeless, in foster care or part of the social services system.
(2) Law enforcement
There is no uniformity in policies across jurisdiction throughout the U.S. specifically for guidelines for reporting a missing person. In some cities there is no prohibition in reporting where in other localities it can be as much as 24 to 48 hours. We know that time is of the essence when a person goes missing to collect clues and evidence that could help bring a missing person home.
The classification of “Runaway” should be prohibited. When children are reported missing, resources should be dedicated to find them.
(3) Media Coverage
Law enforcement are the first gatekeepers to awareness or media coverage. They are typically the ones who would alert the media when a person goes missing to get coverage. It goes back to the classification of these individuals. How do they decide which cases they report to the media? There needs to be set criteria so that biases do not come into play.
Collectively, we need to review and modify the criteria for amber alerts.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I had to mail a press kit to multiple local news stations. With each kit, I enclosed a personal note to the news director. Prior to mailing, I double and triple checked each package for accuracy.
A few days later, I received a call from one of the news directors saying I sent her the kit for another news station. I was mortified. The news director and I have been friends ever since.
I learned to take my job seriously but not too seriously because things happen.
Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
All of the cases are near and dear to our hearts. Sadly, we are meeting families at the worst points in their lives. The case of Kennedi High is still near and dear to me.
Kennedi’s mother Brandi reached out to us in 2017 after Kennedi, then 16-years-old, never came home from school. She was last seen getting into a car outside her Baltimore area school with an 18-year-old man that she met on a dating app. Brandi felt like the police didn’t comprehend that her daughter, who was diagnosed with autism at age 12, was in clear danger.
As a result of media exposure, a week later, an Uber driver provided a tip that he may have seen Kennedi. The driver gave the address of the apartment complex where he dropped her off. Kennedi was then rescued from a unit within that complex.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why?
I would welcome the opportunity to have a private breakfast or lunch with Yvette Noel Schure. Yvette is another Caribbean woman doing amazing things as a publicist to some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry. I would like to chat with her about her successes and challenges as a publicist.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
You can follow the impact of Black and Missing on Instagram (@blackandmissingfdn), (@nwrcommsgroup), Facebook (Black and Missing, Inc.) and Twitter (@BAM_FI)
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success in your mission.
Social Impact Heroes: Why & How Natalie Wilson of Black & Missing Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.