The Missing and Black Foundation, Lauren Underwood, Natalie Cofield, Jerri Evans, Wendy Lopez And Jessica Jones, Elisa Shankle, Mirna Valerio, These Black Women Make Sure Their Communities Are Seen, Elizabeth Colomba, Latoya Snell, Natalie And Derrica Wilson, African American Women Activist, Black Activist, Black Women, Black Communities, African American Communities, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMN, KINDR'D Magazine, KINDR'D, Willoughby Avenue, WRIIT, Wriit,

Natalie And Derrica Wilson Are Dedicated To Finding America’s ‘Black And Missing’ | HuffPost

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Natalie And Derrica Wilson Are Dedicated To Finding America’s ‘Black And Missing’ | HuffPost

Phoenix Coldon, 23, was last seen on Dec. 18, 2011, sitting in the driveway of her family’s St. Louis County home. Her mother, one of the last people to see her, thought Coldon had gone to the store. When she wasn’t home the next morning, Coldon’s mother reported her and her car missing. Coldon’s mother told HuffPost in 2012 that the disappearance was out of character and that the family had a hard time generating media coverage for the case. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″]

Natalie Wilson remembers the first time she spoke to Coldon’s mother. Once they got off the phone, Wilson called every single news station in the St. Louis area, begging them to just show Coldon’s profile. “Every station,” Wilson told me. “Finally, one of them got tired of me calling and showed her profile. It’s an uphill battle.”

Wilson and her sister-in-law, Derrica Wilson, work to ensure black folks and other people of color reported missing don’t slip through the cracks. In 2008, the two founded the Black And Missing Foundation to help raise awareness around these cases and help families navigate police and the media ― two spaces that can be hostile for people of color.

By Julia Craven, HuffPost
Featured Image, MELISSA FALCONER FOR HUFFPOST
Full Article @ HuffPost