Lauren Smith-Fields
In 2020, approximately 10,000 Black women and girls were reported missing. Did you know that? No, because it wasn't highly publicized. Black and Brown women that are reported missing are not a headline.
Lauren Smith-Fields was found dead in her apartment on December 12.
Of course, you are hearing more about her story towards the end of January, but this happened on December 12, 2021.
The autopsy report showed that she died from "acute intoxication due to the combined effects of fentanyl and alcohol. It was ruled an accidental overdose.
Why was this too long for us to find out this report, why this investigation finally took place, and why was the male companion (Bumble date) free to go from the scene when the police arrived? Her family still has questions, and they've announced that they plan to sue the city of Bridgeport for being "racially insensitive" and failing to investigate her death properly.
The 23-year-old woman died two weeks before Christmas after a meeting with an older white man arranged through a dating app. The older white man had been on a date with Smith-Fields the previous night and claimed that when he woke up that morning, she was lying on her right side, not breathing, with blood dripping from her nose. As of today, he has not been named as a person of interest, nor was he detained or further questioned because he seemed like a "nice guy." By the way, the police did not notify her family about her death.
Her family believed that the police department was "racially insensitive," did not take Smith-Fields's death seriously, and failed to investigate her case properly.
Bumble has finally acknowledged they are looking into this issue since this happens on their platform. You know a platform for women, but it took them weeks and public outcry to finally address this death. First of all, women do not feel protected on dating apps, but black women do not feel safe on dating apps.
Lauren was a Black Tiktok influencer, and multiple TikTok creators have been outspoken about her tragic death to bring awareness of distributing situation. They are also calling out the media for ignoring cases of dead and missing Black and brown women and girls.
It is sad to know that in 2022, young black women are still being murdered during the prime of their life, and the authorities who are supposed to protect us just don't. It is almost unfathomable that something like this can still happen, that the should be suspect is let go because "he's a nice guy," and that the families are told to hush. I can only hope one day this will no longer be an issue.
All individuals that have been missing or murdered should be taken seriously.