Chicago middle schooler Aziyah Roberts is taking the matters of the missing black women and girls in Chicago into her own hands. The seventh-grader along with fellow young activists organized the #WeWalkForHer march to find the city’s missing young women.
According to ABC7 Chicago, at least five teens and women have gone missing or been found dead in the city since March, the majority of whom have been black.
"We're trying to come up with a solution of our own to bring awareness to our black girls coming up missing. No one is doing nothing about it, so we're going to do something about it ourselves," youth activist Miracle Boyd said.
The group of concerned residents could be heard chanting, "Stop and listen, our girls are missing!" as they paraded through Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood.
"It was really about the missing black girls and nobody helping us out here. Nobody standing up," Roberts said.
Though many people have overlooked what is happening in the West and South Sides of Chicago, it has become a nightmare for those who live there.
"I'm scared to go outside. I'm scared to go in certain neighborhoods because I'm afraid of being snatched or kidnapped. I'm afraid for my sisters, too," neighborhood resident Mikiya Coley told ABC.
The Chicago Police Department has come to the consensus that the cases don't appear to be connected; however, many residents and activists are calling BS.
CPD hasn’t linked these cases together but there’s some shit going on. Latonya Moore, Shantieya’s mother, says CPD isn’t doing anything for them or their community.
— acid burn (@Steve_Mahanahan) June 7, 2018
"We need answers. We need solutions to this problem because this just can't keep happening. We're all walking around in fear," said Teresa Smith, daughter of 65-year-old Daisy Hayes who was last seen May 1.
Protecting our women cannot continue to go on the backburner. Thankfully, the next generation realizes this and are already putting in the work to make a change.
