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The Tragedy of Kenneka’s Death Is a Common Issue Found Across the United States

If you haven’t heard about Kenneka Jenkins, you need to get caught up right now. It is a developing story that is being pieced together by friends and family with no assistance from the police. Horribly enough, this is a recurring issue that can be found happening to Black girls all across the country. Black girls are continually being forced into sex trafficking. Kenneka Jenkins must always be remembered, as do Shaniah Boyd, Winter Griffin, Anjel Burl and many other missing girls of the same race.

We start this investigation of racist fetishizing and capture of women of color in our nation’s capital, Washington D.C. Recently, a total of 22 women of color have gone missing. Police have made claims of the I-495 from Baltimore to D.C., to be a growing hub for human trafficking. They have made it clear that these girls are Black and Latina teenagers. In 2017, there have been about 190 cases of abduction. The police take little to no action to find these girls. They have been quoted as simply upping their Twitter usage to spread awareness. While social media is a good tool for spreading awareness, when it comes to police, more hands-on action is needed and expected.

In Cook County, as of August 2017, over 1,000 people were charged in a sex trafficking ring. Most of these people are sex-buyers. These people were caught in operation across 17 states. Of those arrested, 15 are facing trafficking-related charges, the sheriff’s office said. Sex-trafficking must be taken very seriously. Unjustly, prostitutes on average face the most time for sex-trafficking, because they are the most easily caught. The ones who should justly be punished are the pimps and sex-buyers who contribute the most to the intense sexual abuse these women go through.

“The Attorney General is aware of the reports and is looking into the issue,” lazily says Sarah Flores. True justice has always come from the people most affected taking actions for themselves. These people are often hated for doing so and belittled on every level. The fight will always be going on so long as white people continue to remain ignorant or neutral to the issues facing communities of color. These problems are products of that ignorance. Continue to fight and spread the word until these girls are all brought home and those held responsible are imprisoned. Don’t let these girls’ death be like Kenneka’s. 

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