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Why The Case of Lauren Smith-Fields Deserves Our Attention
Every time I look at the image of the young Black woman, smiling with the promise of what will never be — I’m reminded of what I looked like when I was a 23-year-old college graduate diligently planning an ambitious move from the Midwest to New York City.
Lauren Smith-Fields is not Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old white woman whose online presence as a YouTuber documenting her version of the viral series “Van Life” with her abusive boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, inspired the nationwide attention her disappearance and eventual murder warranted.
For weeks, during the fall of 2021, our newsfeed was hijacked by the real-life thriller starring two young mismatched lovers embarking on a cross-country road trip that goes predictably awry. The couple’s violent antics on the road caught the attention of cops, who failed to separate the victim from her abuser, which provided another opportunity for a tragic outcome.
The point is that prominent media outlets did not take their foot off the gas when it came to sustaining the momentum around solving the mystery of Gabby Petito’s disappearance. For weeks, the nation was transfixed by the stunning coverage of a nail-biter that included CNN’s annoying habit of replaying clips of the doomed lovebirds frolicking in the great wide open.
