Invisible Woman: The Vanishing of Kierra Coles

0:22 Welcome to No Tears for Black Girls. I'm Samantha Paul, and today we're exploring a case that embodies the painful reality of how missing Black women are treated in America. This episode accompanies the release of our new song Invisible Woman from the soundtrack of the upcoming novella The Price of Silence, written by JC Reedberg, creator of this podcast. The book releases this Juneteenth. In October 2018, a 26 year old pregnant postal worker named Kiara Coles left her Chicago apartment, was captured briefly on surveillance video, and then simply vanished.

1:02 She was three months pregnant with her first child. Her purse, cell phone, and car were left behind. Despite these suspicious circumstances, the investigation quickly went cold. Chiara's disappearance represents a devastating pattern we see repeatedly with missing Black women. The initial media coverage was minimal, the police investigation lacked urgency, and as weeks turned to months and then years, Chiara's family has been left to carry the burden of keeping her name alive in the public consciousness. What makes Chiara's case particularly troubling is how it reveals the systemic issues within law enforcement's response to missing Black women.

1:45 Despite her status as a federal employee, despite clear evidence of foul play, despite her pregnancy, the case was classified as a non high risk missing person case. The Chicago Police Department suspended their active investigation after just one year. Her mother, Karen Phillips, has been relentless in her fight for justice. It's like they just forgot about her, she told reporters on the 3rd anniversary of Kiara's disappearance. If Kiara was a different color, would they have looked harder? Would they have cared more? The statistics support her suspicion.

2:26 A 2021 study found that missing white women received significantly more media coverage than women of color. This missing white woman syndrome means cases like Chiara's don't generate the public pressure needed to keep investigations active. This pattern of neglect is exactly what our song Invisible Woman addresses, how Black women can disappear not once, but twice, first physically, then from public consciousness and institutional concern. In our novella The Price of Silence, we explore how systems meant to protect women often fail, Black women specifically.

3:08 When Tasha discovers her police officer husband's connection to trafficking and confronts him, she finds herself trapped by the very institutions meant to protect her. Like Kiara's family, she discovers that some women's pain goes unnoticed, that some women's absence creates barely a ripple in the system's designed to maintain order. In October 2022, four years after Kiara's disappearance, the FBI announced a $45,000 reward for information leading to her whereabouts. This came only after years of advocacy from her family and community organizations. It shouldn't take four years and constant pressure for a missing pregnant woman to receive this level of attention.

3:55 The song we're releasing today? Invisible Woman honors Kiara Coles and countless other Black women who have gone missing without receiving the attention and resources their cases deserve. For those listening who want to help, remember that keeping Kiara's name and image in public awareness matters. Share her story. Follow the fine Kiara Coles social media accounts. Contact Chicago officials to ask about the status of her case. Kiara was 5 feet 4 inches, weighed 125 lbs with black hair and brown eyes. She has a tattoo of a heart on her right hand and another that says Lucky Libra on her back.

4:37 She was last seen wearing her postal worker uniform. Someone knows what happened to Kiara Coles. Someone has information that could bring her family closure, and until she is found, we will continue to say her name and fight against the silence that too often surrounds missing Black women. Thank you for listening to No Tears for Black Girls. I'm Samantha Paul and I'll see you next time. Stay loved, stay blessed, and stay safe. Walking home that day, security camera cut her. Then she faded away.

5:32 October chill in Chicago. Leaves were turning brown. Another black woman missing, barely made the evening rounds. Invisible. They don't see your crown, Invisible Woman, they won't search the ground. How many tears must fall before they hear our sound? Invisible Woman, we won't let you down.

6:13 Three years of silence. Family screaming her name while headlines chase white women. The pattern stays the same. Her uniform's still hanging. Her baby never born. The system keeps on moving like no absence to one invisible. They don't see your crown invisible. They won't search the ground. How many tears must fire before they hear a sound? Invisible Woman, we won't let you down Behind the blue wall. Questions just appear behind the blue wall. Evidence runs clear.

7:17 But we keep speaking, we keep seeking till invisible women finally appear. Say her name Kiera calls. Say her name till she's fine, say.