In a move that has sparked controversy, California has enacted a new race-specific alert system for missing persons, known as the "Ebony Alert."
This system, which is set to be operational from January 1, 2024, is designed to aid in the location of missing Black youth, including young women and girls, who disappear under unexplained or suspicious circumstances.
The bill, Senate Bill 673, was passed last month with the support of all 32 Democrats and eight Republicans in the state Senate. Governor Gavin Newsom signed it into law on Sunday. "This bill will establish the Ebony Alert system to aid in the location of missing Black youth, including young women and girls, who are reported missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances," Newsom said in a signing document. "I thank the Legislature for highlighting this important issue, addressing well-documented disproportionality in the number of children of color who go missing every year."
However, the governor also acknowledged that the criteria in this bill are expansive and do not align with the criteria in existing alerts such as the Amber Alert, Endangered Missing Advisory, Feather Alert, and Silver Alert.
The bill's author, state Sen. Steven Bradford (D), argued that there was a precedent for such an alert system. He pointed out that as of last year, the state already had an Indian-focused alert system called "Feather Alert"; a geriatric-focused alert system called "Silver Alert"; and an alert system concerning attacks on police officers called "Blue Alert."
Despite the existence of Amber Alerts, which have helped recover 1,127 children as of January, Senate Bill 673 suggests that missing black children are "disproportionately classified as 'runaways' in comparison to their white counterparts and do not receive the AMBER Alert, which ultimately means that fewer resources are allotted to safe return of Black children."
The legislation states, "When a missing child is listed as a runaway, they receive no media coverage, and fewer police and government resources are available for their recovery."
The Ebony Alert will cover missing black individuals ages 12 to 25, partially overlapping with Amber Alerts, which are used for missing persons 17 years or younger. Radio, television, cable, satellite, and social media systems will be encouraged to cooperate with disseminating information contained in an Ebony Alert. Additionally, California Highway Patrol may assist in amplifying the message if a vehicle is involved in the missing person incident.
Rick L. Callender, the president of the NAACP California Hawaii State Conference, hailed the bill signing as a historic breakthrough. "Todays bill signing represents a historic breakthrough, guaranteeing that Black children and young Black women will receive the attention and protection they need when they are reported missing," he said in a statement. "This is a great first step to mitigating the racial inequities when it comes to Black women and children when they go missing."
However, the law has been met with criticism. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) denounced the law as discriminatory, writing, "Why do liberals LOVE to discriminate based on race? If an Hispanic kid or a White kid goes missing, CA won't send out an alert?!? Here's a crazy idea: Look for EVERY missing child, regardless of race!" Mike Davis of the Article III Project also criticized the law, calling it "Beyond parody. Beyond racist. Beyond unconstitutional. @GavinNewsom is a total clown."
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