Black and Missing, Inc. Celebrates the Life of Tamika Huston

Landover Hills, MD, December 12, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Today, on what would be her 29th birthday, Black and Missing, Inc. is remembering the life of Tamika Huston who disappeared in May 2004 from Spartanburg, South Carolina and was ultimately found murdered.

Huston’s family tried to get national attention for her disappearance, but received very little coverage for nearly a year after she went missing. However, the cases of Laci Peterson, Lori Hocking, Natalee Holloway and other young white women dominated news networks.

“The Huston story has garnered national debates on the disparity in media coverage of missing persons of color,” said Derrica Wilson, president and CEO of Black and Missing, Inc. “The struggles of the Huston family and other grieving families throughout the minority community was instrumental in the creation of BAM.”

"The pain of losing Tamika in such a senseless and brutal way will never subside,” said Rebkah Huston, aunt of Tamika. “However, our family is all too familiar with the sheer number of missing person’s cases in this country which will never be solved and the thousands of families who will never receive justice for their loved ones. In a sad way, we consider ourselves among the fortunate ones and we certainly believe Tamika would want us to use our collective grief and experiences to help others.”

With close to 40 percent of all missing persons reported being persons of color, BAM, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization was founded with a mission is to:

• Increase the awareness and exposure of missing persons of color;
• Assist in finding missing minorities – adults and children; and
• To educate the minority community on personal safety.

Christopher Hampton, Huston’s ex-boyfriend, confessed to Huston's murder and was sentenced to life in prison on April 4, 2006.

For additional information on BAM and its free services, please visit www.blackandmissinginc.com, or call (571) 245-4855.

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