Final week, the story of Carlethia “Carlee” Russell’s kidnapping shook the web. Because the information broke, it was shared that the Alabama resident stopped on a freeway to research a lone stroller that she noticed within the lane and was then kidnapped. Many created flyers in an try to convey consciousness to her disappearance and commenced chatting largely about different events through which Black girls of all backgrounds have gone lacking globally with out hope of being discovered. 49 hours later, Carlee Russell was discovered safely.
In a current press convention, Hoover Police Division shared that they’ve since been unable to confirm the small print of the expertise. Additionally they revealed that her search historical past was riddled with examples of amber alerts and Taken 2. Hoover police chief Nick Derzis said, “I do suppose it’s extremely uncommon that the day somebody will get kidnapped, seven or eight hours earlier than that they had been looking out the film Taken about an abduction. I discover that very unusual.”
As traditional, social media has taken to demonizing the 25-year-old who (impulsively) grew to become the figurehead for all Black girls in all places. The merry brigade of misogynoir lovers of all genders got here via deep, utilizing her situation as a purpose to invalidate the various lived experiences of Black girls from throughout.
Carlee Russell is not your corridor move to not imagine Black girls.
Sure, it’s okay to have opinions concerning the predicament Russell put herself in. However let’s preserve it utterly sincere—quite a lot of y’all had been all the time on the lookout for an excuse to look down on and never handle Black girls interval. Frankly, the priority felt largely performative and disingenuous.
Though Russell’s ill-devised state of affairs was one in every of idiocy, there are literally thousands of Black girls throughout the nation—the world— who’ve been left weak with no safety. In response to the NAACP, greater than 60,000 Black girls are lacking in the USA. Many years move and these Black girls fade into distant reminiscences of what their lives had been or might have been if the right sources had been allotted to search out them.
Sadly, the load of respectability politics immediately makes the errors of 1 reflective of a complete group of individuals. Carlee’s actions don’t set the Black neighborhood again or mechanically make us devious or unworthy of security. Whether or not we’re discussing #MeToo or cases like this, we should be capable of make house for the variance and nuances that every respective state of affairs requires. Why do Black girls all the time must be the butt of the joke?
Moreover, we’ve got no clue who Russell really is or what she has skilled in life. This is likely to be a cry for assist in the fog of a chaotic life we all know nothing about. What the main target ought to shift to is the extent of collective concern that the neighborhood felt. People took a second to stray away from the most recent movie star gossip to make the most of their efforts in making certain Carlee was out of hurt’s manner. What we must always transfer our efforts towards is wrapping our arms round Black girls who come ahead about their experiences, mistreatment and marginalization and have the bravery to talk up about it.
This second needs to be used as a reminder to point out a bit extra compassion for the Black girls in our lives who want the additional consideration Carlee obtained in hopes that we will convey them again house, wherever that is likely to be or no matter that will imply for them.
