THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS!!! I have been chewing on this very topic ever since Ahmaud Arbery's murder, but wasn't sure exactly how to approach it, while still being respectful to the voices of Black folks and POC.

I am a huge TC fan (and write about it a lot), and I am saddened that our genre is so white. I do my best to amplify the cases of women of color who are murdered or missing, but I know it's an uphill battle. I try to call out the systems that ignore or minimize crimes against Black women.

And, growing up a poor hippie in rural Arkansas, I fully know that cops are not always the good guys. There are far too many who are racist and/or just control freaks, who enjoy the power of being able to victimize people - in ways large and small - and get away with it.

I think if we're really all about justice, we in the TC community should support BLM, police accountablity, and defunding the police (which, for those who don't know, just means taking some of their budget and giving it to other community resources better equipped to handle different problems).

Again, thank you for this important article. I for one will be taking your advice to heart.