Remarks of Acting AAG Brent J. Cohen at Discussion on Missing or Murdered Black Women and Girls

As Prepared for Delivery

I want to pause a moment and give us a chance to fully take in what we just heard. This wasn't just a roster of names - these are sisters, daughters, nieces, aunts - women and girls who have never been given the recognition and the respect they deserve. These are stories that need to be told.

As a nation, we have done a poor job of telling these stories, or, frankly, of even acknowledging that these stories are worthy of being told. And, as we all know, these names represent only a fraction of the names of Black women and girls who have gone missing or have been murdered in our country. There are so many more whose names deserve to be read and whose stories deserve to be told.

But this recitation - even though it leaves out so many - should serve as a call to action, by reminding us that there's so much still left to do.

I want to thank everyone here for the incredible work you're doing to elevate this issue and address this crisis:

• To Arlissa and Symone, for using your platforms to lift up these stories - and to Natalie, for the amazing organization that you co-founded that gives hope to so many families. We thank you for your tireless work to bring awareness to this issue, even before the full scope of the problem was understood. You have all continued the drumbeat so that there will be no forgetting.
• To Lakeisha, Derrick, and Tanesha, for your courage and for turning unspeakable loss into such powerful advocacy that reaches across the country and has touched all of us here today.
• To the state leaders for being out-front on this issue and sharing their pathways to change, and to our federal partners who understand the urgency and who are bringing their commitment and their resources to bear in trying to find solutions.
• And to everyone who's taken the time to be here today, including members of the media who are covering this meeting during an exceptionally busy news cycle. We're grateful to all of you for being part of this conversation.

You just heard from my distinguished colleagues across the federal government about the work they're doing and the investments they're making. Hopefully, you can see that there are dedicated public servants working hard, day in and day out, to find justice for missing and murdered Black women and girls, and to prevent more women and girls from experiencing the same.

But it must be said that what we've been doing - as a nation and as a federal government - has not been sufficient. We have no, done nearly enough to appreciate the disproportionate impact that violence has on Black women and girls, and our resources haven't been adequate to address this epidemic. This is shameful, and it's absolutely unacceptable.

You've heard the statistics - more than a third of women and girls who go missing are Black, well above their percentage of the general population, and Black women experience the highest rates of homicide of any racial or ethnic group. This is truly a crisis.

We know that Black women and girls are not the only ones to be impacted by violence - and women and girls from all communities, Indigenous women, in particular - also need our attention, our support, and our resources. This isn't and shouldn't be a zero-sum issue. We can and we must address gender-based violence writ large, while also acknowledging the vulnerability and disproportionality experienced by specific communities.

Our conversation today will not bring an immediate solution to this significant problem, but I do hope that it's a step in the direction of a solution. We've talked about the advocacy so many of you, and others across the country, are engaged in. We've discussed resources and strategies from the state and federal levels to tackle this challenge. And we've listened to powerful stories from families who have experienced trauma and injustice, and who have had the courage to speak out and call our nation's attention to this issue.

What we're seeing here is a groundswell of attention and action, led by dedicated, resourceful, and vocal champions, working on behalf of those whose voices have been silenced for far too long.

A lot has changed in the past couple of weeks, and more is sure to come. But, in this period of relative uncertainty, being here in this room today brings me hope. I am so glad that so many of our colleagues from OJP and from across the federal government were able to participate and learn from you and your efforts today.

Thank you all for your time today, and for the important work you're doing in your communities, and across the nation.

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