It's past time Black women and girls feel safe in Minnesota

Saint Paul - Hundreds of people gathered at the Minnesota State Capitol on Wednesday as part of the first 'Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls Day on the Hill'.

The inaugural 'Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls Day on the Hill' was marked by this sad reality: we shouldn't need need an Office for missing and murdered Black women and girls, but the violence they face is disproportionate and historically overlooked.

Data shows that Black women in Minnesota are nearly three times more likely to be killed than their white peers. And while Black women make up only 7% of the state’s population, they comprise 40% of domestic violence victims in the state. Black women also make up 40% of sex trafficking victims in the United States.

Burkes has spent the past year engaging with the community to understand what they want from the MMBWG Office.

“Too often, when Black women and girls go missing, they are not met with urgency. Their disappearances are not met with national outcry, their lives are not deemed worthy of the same media coverage, the same law enforcement response and the same public sympathy,”  said Kaleena Burkes, Director of the Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls Office.

The Office, established in 2023 is the first in the nation and designed to support affected families and communities and to ensure timely investigations, partly by collaborating with law enforcement. For Director Burkes, this job is personal.

“As a Black woman growing up in America, I've always felt silenced, and when I think about these case types, I think about the family members and victims not being heard, not being noticed, not being listened to – so it's an honor to use my voice where people, otherwise, don’t listen.”

Director Burkes knows in order to help victims and their families, it will take education and collaboration.

“I want to educate people about what factors influence Black women and girls going missing or getting murdered,” she said. “And get people to better understand who all is involved – law enforcement, education, child protection so that we all can come to the table together to find the solution for this epidemic.”

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Over 60,000 Black women and girls are missing in the United States, and Black women are more than twice as likely than their peers to be victims of homicide.

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan at the inaugural Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls Day on the Hill.

During the Day on the Hill, Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan said all Black women deserved to be seen, heard, valued and believed.

“When one of our Black women or girls goes missing we look for her. When a Black woman or girl is murdered or faced violence, we stand with her and her family,” said Lt. Gov. Flanagan.

“We do not look away because when violence happens in our homes, and we keep it behind closed doors, and we feel the shame of this issue and we don't talk about it – we think somehow it will stay behind those closed doors. It does not. It spills out into the streets. It spills out into our communities, and we are all less safe because of it.” 

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If you are a victim of domestic abuse, 24/7 help is available through the Day One Hotline by calling 866-233-1111 or texting 612-399-9995.