Article from Womanist Musings
To qualify for an amber alert the following conditions must be met:
1) Risk of serious bodily injury or death
2) sufficient physical description
3) 17 or younger
4) Reasonable belief that an abduction occurred.
Tekenya Wooten has been classified as a runaway; and therefore she will not be listed as an amber alert. Even if she personally did not meet the criteria, concern for her unborn child alone should have raised the threat level. I suspect that her exclusion has more to do with race and class than any factors specific to her status as a missing person.
Just three days before she went missing Cole Puffinburger was abducted from his home and the media, perhaps drawn to the drug connection ran continual coverage and updates. The Puffinburger name has become known internationally and yet Tekenya has barely been covered by print news, never mind appearing on any of the large news networks.
Missing black children are continually ignored by police departments and the media. When a child is in a group home with no adult to speak for them the chances that they will become noticed reduce considerably. Being a resident of a group home means that Wooten was a ward of the state and clearly big brother has decided that it would be easier if she simply disappeared into the forgotten mass of humanity. Since the state has custody and the state represents the people we all have a responsibility to speak on Tekenya's behalf. A missing 12 year old pregnant child is an emergency.
Durham PD -Cheif Jose Lopez, Sr. of the Durham Police Department 919- 560-4322 jose.lopez@durhamnc.gov
Durham City Manager- Thomas Bonfield (919)560-4222 tom.bonfield@durhamnc.gov
Mayor of Durham (919) 560-4333 ext. 269 Bill.Bell@durhamnc.gov
Durham Child Protective Services (919) 560-8424 ( This is run by Durham COUNTY)
Spread the word however you can. This child needs to be found. Blog about it, write e-mails, make phone calls, talk to friends. We are all that Tekenya has and we owe her more than what we have done.
H/T Delilah Delilah and What About Our Daughters (awesome work Gina)
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