MINNEAPOLIS 鈥� Over a hundred people came to the capital Wednesday to raise awareness about the disproportionate rates of violence facing Black women as part of Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls Day on the Hill.
The Wednesday, April 9, event also celebrated the Office for Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls, which was created in 2023 to investigate and attempt to reduce the deaths and disappearances of Black women in the state. The office, established under the Office of Justice within the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, , according to the DPS website.
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Joyce Hayden, a Black mother whose 25-year-old daughter Taylor was killed in 2016, said the mission to protect Black women cannot stop with the creation of the office and that there must not be 鈥渁nother Taylor.鈥�
鈥淭his is more than a ceremonial event,鈥� Hayden said. 鈥淚t is a pivotal, pivotal moment, a collective declaration that the lives of Black women and girls matter and that the silence surrounding their disappearances and deaths will no longer be tolerated.鈥�
Black women, like Taylor, are six times more likely to be killed than their white counterparts, according to a peer-reviewed study in The Lancet medical journal.
Of the over 270,000 women reported missing in 2022 nationally, Black women accounted for around 36% of that total despite only making up 14% of the U.S. female population, according to the National Crime Information Center.
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, the city鈥檚 first African-American mayor, said that while the MMBWG office should not have to exist, Minnesota needs to do a better job of caring for women of color.
鈥淗istorically, we have failed as a state, as a community, as a country,鈥� Carter said. 鈥淲e should know, and all of our systems should reflect that anytime any of our girls goes missing, that that is a crisis for all of us.鈥�
MMBWG鈥檚 director, Kaleena Burkes, said problems facing Black women extend beyond disproportionate rates of violence. She said a lack of media attention and police resources on cases can hurt community trust and leave families wondering if something more could have been done.
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鈥淭his is not just about policy. This is about lives. This is about justice. This is about undoing centuries of racial indifference. It鈥檚 about ensuring that no more family members are left searching for answers alone,鈥� Burkes said.
State Sen. Bobby Joe Champion, DFL-Minneapolis, while commending Black state leaders and advocates in the audience who helped create the MMBWG office, said the work is not done.
鈥淚t is not the finish line,鈥� Champion said. 鈥淲e need all of you to help us continue to push our state leaders to support and sustain this important work.鈥�
Some of the other speakers at the event included Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Senate-hopeful Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, and Brittney鈥檚 Place founder Lakeshia Lee.
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