The four-part docuseries “Black and Missing” debuts on HBO today, chronicling the journey of two sisters-in-law, Derrica and Natalie Wilson, who are bringing awareness to Black missing persons cases ignored by law enforcement and national media. huffpost.com/entry/black-mi…
Directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Geeta Gandbhir and journalist Soledad O’Brien, the series spotlights different cases and the nuances that distinguish them, including the impacts of online grooming and domestic violence. huffpost.com/entry/black-mi…
We spoke to Gandbhir and the Wilson sisters about the documentary and the purpose of their work.
Here are some snippets from their interview.
Q: From watching “Black and Missing,” viewers learn that police departments often regard youth as “runaways” upon turning 16 as opposed to “missing children.” How do you think the adultification of Black girls contributes to the disregard for their safety when in need of help?
Q: It was emphasized in the documentary that cooperation and collaboration with law enforcement is integral to find missing children. After the calls to defund and abolish police last summer, do you believe these departments and systems are capable of reform?
Q: Why do you think media outlets do not respond to cases of Black missing girls in the same manner and with the same fervor as cases such as Gabby Petito, Elizabeth Smart, etc.?
Q: What do you want people to take away from this documentary?
Scott Brown, who is Black, and his husband, who is white, are the proud foster-to-adopt parents of a white 21-month-old son. "We have become the object of such fascination due to the unconventional makeup of our family," writes Brown. huffpost.com/entry/black-da…
As an interracial couple, their only request was that the child they would end up adopting be a mix of something. When they were "presented with the whitest baby on the face of the earth," Brown was confused. "Those were usually the ones reserved for white heterosexual couples."
Brown says he had been preparing all his life to raise the most self-assured, entitled, Black (or some other non-white) child that he could. "Looking at this blond-haired, blue-eyed baby," he recalls, "apparently I should have been doing a different kind of training."