Rep. Ilhan Omar Introduces the Brittany Clardy Act for Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls

A bill introduced on September 19 by Representatives Ilhan Omar (D – MN.) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D – NJ.) would establish an Office for Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls within the Department of Justice. Called the Brittany Clardy Act, the bill is named after an 18-year-old woman who was murdered in 2013. Clardy’s family says they were brushed off when they reached out to law enforcement when she went missing, according to a Minnesota Public Radio story. Two weeks after she went missing, Clardy was found murdered in the trunk of her car, leaving her sister to wonder if she could’ve been saved had law enforcement acted earlier. In a statement to Teen Vogue, Rep. Omar said, “this bill is dedicated to the memory of Minnesotans like Brittany Clardy, and the countless other Black women who have been the victims of crimes but whose cases were initially brushed off by law enforcement.”
Black women and girls are murdered at a rate three times higher than that of white women. And, over the last 5 years, Black women accounted for a significant portion of missing persons cases, with some data showing 40%, a disproportionately high number relative to population size. The plight of missing and murdered Black girls and women is only compounded by a media bias the late journalist Gwen Ifill called “missing white woman syndrome” that leads journalists and pundits to over-examine cases featuring white women while ignoring those of Black women. “Too few people outside of the loved ones of those missing, local community organizers, and a handful of Black-led organizations sound the alarm about this crisis,” wrote Treva Lindsey, an associate professor at The Ohio State University, for TIME. Among the factors that lead to the disparity in victimhood, Lindsey says, are the “deprivation, marginalization, and criminalization [Black women and girls] face… the frequency and consistency with which quotidian experiences with anti-Blackness, misogynoir, and capitalism manifest in our lives. Poor Black women and girls are unhoused, unfed, hyper-surveilled, under- and unemployed, and viewed as expendable or valueless by those with the power to marginalize and criminalize. When you wear someone down, they become more susceptible to other forms of harm.”
Rep. Omar’s home state of Minnesota has been a trailblazer in addressing the disproportionate numbers – in May, they became the nation’s first state to establish an Office of Missing and Murdered African American Women and Girls. In a statement to Teen Vogue, Rep. Omar said, “The crisis of missing and murdered Black women and girls demands urgent action. This is not just a piece of legislation; it's a beacon of hope for Black women and girls across the nation. By creating a dedicated office, we are not only addressing the alarming disparities in violence but also reaffirming our commitment to ensuring that every Black life is valued and protected."