Lifetime's "Abducted at an HBCU: A Black Girl Missing Movie" raises awareness and motivates viewers to act now!
Abducted at an HBCU: A Black Girl Missing Movie premiered yesterday July 20, 2024 on Lifetime at 8 p.m. ET. Abducted at an HBCU: A Black Girl Missing Movie is executive produced by Garcelle Beauvais, who starred in the 2023 critically acclaimed prequal movie titled, Black Girl Missing.
The film stars Naturi Naughton-Lewis stars as Ellen, a former military service member, turned college counselor who seems to be the only person who notices or cares that one of her students, Shannon (Tanyell Quian Waivers), stops attending class. Ellen’s concerns are dismissed by Shannon’s professors, campus administration, students and even her boyfriend. Instead of answers, Ellen is met with careless comments about how “girls like that” from underserved communities often drop out of school. Determined to find Shannon, Ellen relentlessly pursues all opens and tries to utilize all resources in order to connect the dots and rescue her student.
This film exposes systemic racial biases that befall African Americans throughout the justice system. In 2020, of the 268,884 girls and women who were reported missing, 90,333, or nearly 34% of them, were Black, according to the National Crime Information Center. Meanwhile, Black girls and women account for only about 15% of the U.S. female population, according to census data. In contrast, white girls and women — which includes those who identify as Hispanic — made up 59% of the missing, while accounting for 75% of the overall female population.
The numbers along with the lack of media coverage that surround women and girls of color who go missing is concerning at the very least. According to NPR.com, Indigenous people made up 21% of homicide victims in Wyoming between 2000 and 2020, despite being less than 3% of the state's population. The disparity can be seen in the media: Only 18% of Indigenous female victims received coverage. However, among white victims, 51% were in the news. This film shines a light on both these culturally concerning stats while also shining a light on the dark reality that young women may face once they are abducted and forced into illegal human trafficking rings.
There isn’t a competition against who goes missing or why, however, it is the lack of attention, time, and resources that are funneled into missing black and brown people that is the main cause for concern. This is one of the main reasons why films like this are important as they help raise awareness to these issues on a mass scale.
Lead actress Naughton-Lewis states, “I think we have to do more advocating, particularly in our own environments at HBCUs or in any community of color. We have to get involved and speak up for each other because the rest of the world may not do it for us. I hope that people wake up their sensibility of community, and I hope people get more involved.”
This movie serves to highlight the growing epidemic of missing Black women and girls particularly those who come from disadvantaged communities. The plot flows well as audiences remain engaged throughout this suspenseful drama.
Will time run out or will Ellen bring Shannon home in time? Watch Abducted at an HBCU: A Black Girl Missing Movie to find out.