Lauren LaRosa (Host, same as A) (2:57)
Hey, y'. All, what's up? It's Lauren LaRosa. And this is another episode of the Latest with Lauren LaRosa. This is a daily dig on all things pop culture, entertainment news, and all of the conversations that shake the room. Baby. Now, today, you know, coming off of an Easter holiday break, you know, Easter 2026, you know, it's natural to just be thinking about family, thanking God for family, and, you know, all the things that come with being able to spend time with loved ones, you know, over a holiday weekend or holiday break. But, you know, this morning in this podcast episode, I want to really take the time to get into a conversation that is needed when you talk about spending time with family and with loved ones. There are so many people going throughout these holidays, going day to day, who are not able to do so. And it's not because their loved one is choosing to distance themselves. And all these nuanced conversations we have about the choice to deal with and or not deal with your family. These are people who love their family members, love their daughters, love their sons, their mothers who have not seen them in months, some people even years, because they are missing. And these people do not have the help that they need to get the word out there, nor do they feel supported by local law enforcement programs and systems. Who are the people doing the job to go and find them? You know, there's been so much coverage, and I know that we normally check in behind the scenes of the grind in the beginning of our episodes, but I don't even want to check in on me right now because we have a mom that we will be speaking to quite frequently here on this podcast and, you know, throughout other platforms that I work with, Breakfast Club and other places. Who needs the platform and who needs to be checked in on? So we're going to do that for her and not for us lowriders. And I know you guys will understand that this conversation will not only shake the room, but I hope that it turns light on on in a lot of rooms. I spoke to Lizette Rice. She is a mother from Wilmington, Delaware. You guys know I talk a lot about Delaware homeless podcast because it is where I'm from. Lizette's daughter, her name is Aisha August Bent Hudifah, went missing on February 22, 2026. Now, I've been in contact with Lisette for some weeks. I've been, you know, just trying my best to just repost flyers on Instagram, on Facebook, whatever it is that I can do. But I honestly don't feel like I'm doing enough. And, you know, I don't know if our interview and our conversation will be the answer that she needs to help bring her baby girl home. But I want to add, I think that it's important information throughout this conversation as well too. You, you are going to hear from a mother who is distraught, who has not seen her baby girl in over 38 days, a black mother who is a fighter and has the will and determination to not give up, who is up every day literally kicking indoors after she receives tips about where young women and young black women may be being held as they're being trafficked. You're going to hear from her throughout this episode. But I want you guys to understand what we are up against, because one thing that Lavette echoes a lot in our interview is that it's not just her daughter that she wants to help bring home. There are so many young black girls in the city of Wilmington alone. In the last several weeks, I've come across at least like, oh my God, four to five Facebook groups who are posting daily, sometimes every 20 minutes, a new young woman, young man, baby, grown adult, elderly person that has gone missing in the city. But one of the big conversations that we are having right now are about our young black girls, our young black kids in these inner cities. According to Black and missing. According to blackandmissinginc.com, which is an organization that helps to bring platform and voice to children, black children who are missing and who are going overlooked. In 2023, there were over 563,000 persons reported missing in the United States. Now of that over 563,000 people, 57% of those people were white, including Hispanic people. 40% of those people were minority. 40% of missing persons are persons of color. Yet black people make up only 13% of the population. And that's via census.gov Thousands of people are reported missing every year in the US and not every case gets media widespread attention. But the coverage of white and minority victims are far from proportionate. Now blackandmissinginc.com goes on to talk about why there's a disparity in media coverage around black and brown children. Black and brown people as we go missing, the number one reason is runaways. A lot of minority children are initially classified as runaways and are as runaways, and as a result, they do not receive the Amber Alert. You will hear from Ms. Levette, in my interview, talk about her daughter and how she had to fight to get an Amber Alert. The second reason, being listed as criminals. Missing minority adults are labeled as associated with criminal involvement, gangs, and drugs. Desensitization is the third reason. It is believed that missing minorities live in impoverished conditions and crime is a regular part of our lives. And I say, Ira, because I'm from the same city that, you know, Ms. Lavette's daughter went missing at, literally blocks away from where this young girl was last seen by her mother and by her family. I grew up. My family's there. My niece is there. This is our problem. This is not just her and her family's problem. This is our problem. And when I say our, I don't just mean me because I'm from the neighborhood. I mean that. To say, this could be your daughter, this could be your niece, this could be your cousin. This could be you. This could be. I mean, I saw Savannah Guthrie, you know, go back to work today on the Today show, you know, and national news coverage around that, the FBI, the president involved in that. There's a celebrity element there. We get it. She's a white woman. They're a white family.
