Sartaj Singh
Directed by Delmar Washington, ‘Abducted at an HBCU: A Black Girl Missing Movie’ narrates a harrowing tale of kidnapping, neglect, and gross mismanagement owing to racial bias. The Lifetime thriller introduces us to Shannon, an ambitious student of color transferring to a top HBCU mid-semester. Despite her talent and tenacity, Shannon’s main struggle is with paying her college tuition. When she is abducted by traffickers preying around the campus, her sudden absence goes largely unnoticed, except by her college counselor, Ellen.
Despite Ellen’s growing concern, her attempts to raise the alarm are met with indifference from the campus community, including professors and administrators. Undeterred, Ellen’s quest to find Shannon leads her to a shocking discovery of a trafficking ring preying on vulnerable students. With the clock ticking, Ellen’s determination to rescue Shannon and expose the criminal network becomes a tense, urgent mission. The Lifetime thriller unveils truly unsettling practices that transpire as a result of neglect.
Abducted at an HBCU Explores an Alarming Trend of Kidnappings of Black Girls
The Lifetime movie is based on a troubling trend of Black girls being kidnapped and trafficked in incidents of organized crime. Such atrocities continue to occur as a result of a lack of concern from authorities that emboldens and empowers predators. Some advocates and activists believe that girls of color disappear daily but go unnoticed by officials or the police. The urgency of the situation was such that state Senator Steven Bradford sought to pass Senate Bill 673 Ebony Alert. The bill seeks to promote the urgency with which cases of Black people under the age of 26 going missing will be brought to the public eye.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed the legislation, making California the first state to create a system to transmit alert notifications regarding such cases. These highlight the crisis of missing young Black women between the ages of 12 and 25. “Today, California is taking bold and needed action to locate missing Black children and Black women in California. I want to thank the Governor for signing the Ebony Alert into law,” said Senator Steven Bradford. “Our Black children and young women are disproportionately represented on the lists of missing persons. This is heartbreaking and painful for so many families and a public crisis for our entire state. The Ebony Alert can change this.”
The Kidnapping of Lisa Grant
There are several cases of young women disappearing from around HBCU campuses that would have inspired the Lifetime movie’s script. One of the most prominent incidents is that of Lisa Grant. A student of Hampton University, Virginia, Grant was abducted from outside the female dorm by a man approaching her and asking for directions. He then pulled out a gun and forced her into his vehicle before driving off. After pleading for her life seemed to have no effect on the perpetrator, Grant jumped out of the moving car when it was on a busy highway.
Escaping the terrifying kidnapping, Grant did not look back. She completed her Master of Science Degree from Charleston Southern University and made it to the Top 40 under 40 by Charleston’s Regional Business Journal in 2021. She now combines her passions of home decor and real estate into one business as the founder and CEO of See Wee Homes. “Being a victim of a crime is stressful, it stays with you forever and at times my anxiety level is still unmanageable. I never thought in a million years I would be an entrepreneur working in the service industry,” she revealed in an interview. “I am a servant leader and helping others is the way I help myself.”
The Real State of Affairs for Similar Cases
While Lisa Grant thankfully escaped her captor, for many Black women and children who are reported missing, the situation is very dire. According to the Bradford Bill, they are disproportionately classified as runaways, and fewer resources are allocated towards their search in comparison to their white counterparts. “To get the police to take their disappearances seriously and file a report almost never happened,” said Nola Brantley of Nola Brantley Speaks, revealing the on-ground realities. “We’ve never had a time when Black girls weren’t missing. Before, it didn’t matter if we reported it or if the parents reported the police failed to care.”
‘Abducted at an HBCU: A Black Girl Missing Movie’ draws inspiration from such real-life tragedies, emphasizing the urgency and importance of addressing systemic neglect through the story of Shannon’s disappearance. By understanding this plight of missing Black women, we can understand the efforts of those like Ellen who fight tirelessly against indifference and injustice. Through its gripping narrative and powerful performances, the movie aims to shed light on a deeply troubling issue: the need for greater awareness and accountability regarding the kidnapping of Black girls.
Read More: Best Kidnapping Movies on HBO Max
