HARRISBURG, P.A. (KYW Newsradio) — The Pennsylvania House Committee on Children and Youth advanced a bill Tuesday that would establish an Ebony Alert system. Similar to an Amber Alert, the Ebony Alert system would be tailored for missing Black and Brown youth and young adults.
State Rep. Gina Curry from Delaware County, one of the co-sponsors of the bill, said the measure is to address the disparity in media attention and resources allocated for missing Black and Brown children and young adults. The legislation prioritizes people ages 12-25.
Part of the problem, Curry said, is how missing Black and Brown individuals are often slotted in the system.
“Many missing Black and Brown individuals are categorized as runaways versus a category of missing for their white counterparts, which limits the resources and support allocated to find them,” she said.
Curry said that miscategorization often leads Black and Brown individuals more vulnerable to being victims of sex trafficking.
She cited a 2020 study from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation that found Black women represent 40% of all sex trafficking victims in the U.S.
The bill passed out of the committee by a vote of 15 to 10, with detractors like Rep. Barry Jowziak of Berks County, worried that the Ebony Alert could dilute the effectiveness of the already-in-place Amber Alert system for missing children.
“I still think the Amber Alert system is the premier system in the United States. It works for everybody,” he said. “We don’t decide whether Black, White or Brown. We don’t care. It’s a person.”
The bill is also opposed by Pennsylvania State Police.
Across the U.S., similar bills have been introduced in Alabama, California, Missouri and New York. Pennsylvania’s bill will now head to the full House for passage.