Naman Shrestha
ABC’s ’20/20: The Girl Who Looked Like Me’ delves deep into the mysterious and complicated case of Tamika Huston’s 2004 disappearance and murder. It was only after a year of investigation that the detectives were able to find the perpetrator responsible for the killing. Although numerous loved ones of the victim make an appearance in the episode, her aunt Rebkah Howard captured the attention of many viewers, mostly because of her significance to the investigation.
Rebkah Howard Tried Her Best to Raise Awareness About Her Niece’s Disappearance
The Washington DC native and Tamika Huston’s aunt, Rebkah Howard, was born in 1972. When she realized that nobody had heard from Tamika for several days, Rebkah was the one who asked the authorities to perform a welfare check on her niece in May 2004. The police found nothing suspicious outside her residence, but after heading indoors, they learned that Tamika had gone missing. Given her connections in the media, Rebkah tries her best to make news outlets cover her niece’s disappearance story.
Unfortunately, her efforts went to waste, and she believed that it was because of “missing white woman syndrome,” highlighting the bias of the media between covering missing stories of white women and black women. For months on end, Rebkah hoped that the authorities would locate her 24-year-old niece safe and sound. After going through some of the hardest months of her life, constantly worried about Tamika, the news of the discovery of her remains broke her heart in 2005.
Rebkah Howard is the Co-Owner of a PR Company Today
Apart from graduating with a degree in Radio, Television, and Film from the University of Maryland graduate, Rebkah Howard also earned a Juris Doctorate from the Howard University School of Law. The former executive director of the Tamika Huston Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the late Tamika Huston, she now is a member of the Board of Directors of the Black and Missing Foundation Inc. Through her position, she continues to advocate for black women who go missing and are not given as much media exposure as white missing women.
Almost two decades later, Rebkah channeled her frustration towards the media outlets and co-produced a 10-part podcast series called ‘Finding Tamika,’ which debuted in 2022. The licensed non-practicing attorney currently works as a publicist and co-owns a public relations firm called ImagePro LLC, which specializes in special events, public affairs, and media relations.
Rebkah Howard Leads a Fulfilling Life in Miami With Her Husband and Children
In 1994, while Rebkah was still carving her path and working hard to achieve her dreams, she met the love of her life, Desmond Howard, on a blind date in Washington, DC. After nine years of growing in love together, they decided to make their relationship official in the eyes of the law and tied the knot on May 31, 2003. Over the course of their relationship and marriage, they gave birth to two twin sons, Desmond Jr. and Dhamir, and a daughter named Sydney.
Her husband, Desmond Howard, is a former NFL player and a Super Bowl champion who currently works at ESPN as a college football analyst. During his successful football career, he won various individual accolades as well, including the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award, and the coveted Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award. In 2023, Rebkah and Desmond celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary in the company of their grown-up children, all of whom are excelling at life. Having Washington, DC, still very close to her heart, Rebkah resides in Miami, Florida, with her picture-perfect family.
