A California bill creating a statewide alert system to help locate missing Black children and women has been signed into law.
According to Vibe, California Governor Gavin Newsome officially signed Senate Bill 673, known as the “Ebony Alert.”
“California is taking bold and needed action to locate missing Black children and Black women in California,” state Sen. Steven Bradford, who authored the bill, said in a statement.
The Ebony Alert will work similarly to the Amber Alert but has been specifically designed for Black people ages 12-25. Law enforcement agencies can request that an Ebony Alert be activated if it determines that it would be an effective tool in a missing persons case. The Ebony Alert will be disseminated through television, online, radio, and social media outlets.
“This is a great first step to mitigating the racial inequities when it comes to Black women and children when they go missing,” Rick L. Callender, bill sponsor and president of the NAACP California Hawaii State Conference, said in a statement.
The law is set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024.
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