Description
An urgent examination of the invisibility of Black women and girls as victims of targeted killings, and the lack of police intervention and media coverage
When Black women and girls are targeted and murdered their cases are often categorized by police officers as “N.H.I.” – “No Humans Involved.” Dehumanized and invisible to the public eye, they are rarely seen as victims. In the United States, Black women are killed at a higher rate than any other group of women, but their victimhood is not covered by the media and their cases do not receive an adequate level of urgency.
Utilizing intensive historical research of cases in cities such as Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, and Los Angles, Cheryl Neely calls attention to serial cases of Black female murder victims and a lack of police action. Neely approaches each case and story with detailed care. Instead of focusing solely on the killings and the murderers, she highlights the lives of the women and girls and their communities that never stopped fighting for justice. With media neglect and police indifference, Neely argues that because law enforcement is less likely to conduct serious investigations into the disappearances and homicides of Black women, they are particularly vulnerable to become victims.
Diving deep into the unseen and unheard, Neely uses personal interviews, court records, media reports, and analytical data to understand how and why Black women are disproportionately more likely to die from homicide in comparison to their white counterpoints. Sounding an urgent alarm, No Human Involved contends that it is time for Black women’s lives to matter not only to their families and communities, but especially to those commissioned to protect them.
Table of Contents
PROLOGUE
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1
But First, Michelle: The Cold Case Murder of My Friend by a Confessed Serial Killer
CHAPTER 2
Panic in Roxbury: Serial Deaths in 1970s Boston
CHAPTER 3
Taco Bell Terror: Serial Murders of Black Women in the Queen City
CHAPTER 4
“No Humans Involved”: Police Apathy and the Tale of the Grim Sleeper
CHAPTER 5
Cleveland Is Dangerous for Black Women: Serial Murders in a House of Horrors
CHAPTER 6
“Say Their Names—All Fifty-One of Them”: Unsolved Murders in Chicago
CONCLUSION
EPILOGUE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
NOTES
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
