Dear Esteemed Members of the NYS Legislature,

We, the undersigned, strongly endorse the passage of Bill 2023-S8345, introduced by Senator Kennedy, which seeks to amend the executive law in the State of New York to establish an "Ebony Alert System" for missing Black youth. This bill addresses a critical issue that disproportionately affects Black youth, including young women,
men, nonbinary individuals, boys, and girls, those who are reported missing under
unexplained or suspicious circumstances, are at risk, developmentally disabled, or
cognitively impaired, or who have been abducted. This bill proposes the creation of a public alert system, akin to Amber or Silver alerts, specifically tailored to missing
Black children aged 12 to 25. The proposed system aims to eliminate implicit racial
bias in cases involving missing persons of color and ensure that adequate resources
and attention are allocated to bring them home.

Background:
According to the Justice Department’s National Institute of Justice’s, National Missing
and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) Program database, over 600,000 individuals go missing in the United States every year. Nearly 40% of missing persons are Black or African American. Black children make up about 38% of missing children cases in the U.S. yet their cases are frequently overlooked by the media, resulting in a lack of national attention. In addition to less coverage, Black or African American youth are disproportionately classified as "runaways" in comparison to non-Black individuals. Often these classifications result in a non-issuance of an Amber Alert. Establishing the Ebony Alert System would shorten the unequivocal societal gap while increasing the probable chances of saving the lives of Black youth throughout New York State.