First director of state's Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls Office: "Save one girl"
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota made history by establishing the first Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls Office in the country. Now we know who will lead the ground-breaking unit. The Department of Public Safety named Kaleena Burkes as its first director.
She says she knows there's work to do. Black women and girls make up 7% of Minnesota's population but are 40% of domestic violence victims. They are three times as likely to be murdered as their white counterparts.
"My lofty goal is to be an example. Save someone. Save one girl," Burkes said.
It's a role where she knew she could have an impact.
"The opportunity to help people and give people a voice who look like me, who historically their voice has been marginalized and been silenced," Burkes said.
Burkes says she saw disparities at a young age. It shaped her lens in life.
"Just as a citizen, usually when young White women go missing, they're plastered across the news nationally. When I've seen Black children or Black girls go missing, it's more feet on the ground. People putting up fliers and posters but they're not getting this national media coverage," Burkes said.
For her, this is an opportunity to change that, and will build on her background.
With a bachelor's and master's in criminal justice, she's been an advocate for kids in family court.
Some of what this newly created office will focus on is getting a better understanding of the problem by collecting data, reviewing cases and sentencing guidelines, and working on legislation.
"Awareness, treating cases in a similar fashion, giving them the same resources," Burkes said.
The office will work alongside law enforcement to investigate cold cases. Other cases could be reopened.
They'll coordinate searches when Black women and girls go missing. Burke says she's heard stories from families around the state and that drives her purpose.
"It is devastating. It is heartbreaking. It's almost a situation where you don't know how you're going to rebound from it and hopefully this office can be the type of support that they can move through these very heartbreaking circumstances," Burkes said.
She hopes the work they do here speaks to other states.
"Nationally, I hope we're an example that we prioritize the lives of Black women and Black girls, and we want to support them," Burkes said.
The next step is to hire about five staff members. Burkes says it will take time to find the right people with the right hearts.
A bill to create a task force to study the problem in Wisconsin has stalled this legislative session.
