Spotlight skips cases of missing minorities

I found this article very interesting. People are often hesitant to bring race into a debate, especially one involving a tragedy like this. However, it has to be at least discussed here. When we look at Amber Alerts and stories on the news, how many times are there white children missing and the world seems in a panic. But when children who are minorities are missing, there just never seems to be the seems sense of urgency or widespread panic. Tamika Huston's family sure has done everything in their power to get some publicity in order to help find their daughter, their niece, their sister. Does anyone have a good reason not to give it to them? Didn't think so. So why don't we?

here is an excerpt and the link:

Spotlight skips cases of missing minorities

By Mark Memmott, USA TODAY

Tamika Huston's family reported her missing a year ago this week.

When police in Spartanburg, S.C., began investigating the 24-year-old woman's disappearance, her loved ones swung into action. They distributed fliers, held news conferences and set up a Web site. Huston's story became a cause célèbre in the local media.

Huston lived alone and obviously hadn't been home for days, if not a week or two. Her dog, Macy, had given birth to puppies.

Rebkah Howard, Huston's aunt and a public relations professional in Miami, tried to get the national media interested in the case. "I spent three weeks calling the cable networks, calling newspapers — even yours," Howard said this week.

Not much happened.

Last August, Fox News Channel's On the Record with Greta Van Susteren briefly noted Huston's disappearance. Fox network's America's Most Wanted did a story about the case in March (it will be repeated this Saturday). National Public Radio did a report last month that, like this story, focused on the lack of interest in Huston's case.

Now, the disappearance of Alabama high school student Natalee Holloway, 18, in Aruba is getting lots of airtime on the cable news networks and morning news shows. Those networks, which drive such stories, are being asked a tough question: Do they care only about missing white women?

Holloway, like "runaway bride" Jennifer Wilbanks, murder victims Laci Peterson and Lori Hacking, kidnap victim Elizabeth Smart and several other girls and women whose stories got significant airtime in recent years, is white.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-06-15-missing-minorities_x.htm