'Running without fear': Black Men Run group honors Ahmaud Arbery at annual event

Caption

Members of Atlanta's Black Men Run pose for a photo after an event to honor Ahmaud Arbery in 2022.

Credit: Courtesy of James Hale

For Black Men Run, a running and social club founded in Atlanta in 2013, this week's outing will be a little different from their normal gatherings.

On Thursday the group will participate in a 2.23-mile run to honor the life of Ahmaud Arbery. Black Men Run is one of several organizations participating in what has now become an annual event honoring the 25-year-old man who was murdered in 2020.

Arbery, who was Black, was jogging through the Satilla Shores neighborhood of Brunswick on Feb. 23, 2020, when he was chased by three white men in pickup trucks — men who shot and killed him. The three men were convicted in state and federal trials on murder and hate crime charges and are serving time in prison.

As a result of the murder of Arbery, the state’s citizen’s arrest law was repealed and a new hate crimes law was enacted.​​​​​ ​​And last year the state declared Feb. 23 as Ahmaud Arbery Day. 

This year, the Ahmaud Arbery Day Run will be held on the Atlanta BeltLine’s West End Trail at 6 p.m. Thursday.

James Hale is a runner and national vice captain and director of communications for Black Men Run.

He said the Arbery run makes an impact because different running groups come together in solidarity. The event is a partnership between South Fulton Running Partners, Lace Up Fitness, Movers+Pacers and Black Men Run. 

"South Fulton Running Partners is based out of College Park, and is the oldest African American run group in the United States," Hale said. "And they started doing this Ahmaud Arbery remembrance on the day that he was murdered. Then the following year. And it's just continued. It's grown. I'm expecting a pretty good turnout tomorrow."

For Hale, the message of the run is not only to honor Arbery but also for runners to feel part of a community.

"I kind of see it as running without fear," Hale said. "Running with an intention to complete whatever goal it is you do it for, while at the same time remembering what has happened to this young man whose life was snatched away. Another thing is seeing that there are others out there like you. You know, you're not alone. You have a whole community, a running community."

Georgia lawmakers Sandra Scott, Viola Davis and Kim Schofield are scheduled to appear at the run.

Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, will mark the anniversary at a separate community conversation alongside leaders from Atlanta's civic, business and running communities. Cooper-Jones has also announced the formation of a scholarship in her late son’s honor.