Today marks three years since three white men murdered Ahmaud Arbery while he was out on a run. A racially motivated hate crime took years of future running and living from Maud, a 25-year-old Black man in New Brunswick, Georgia.
We pause. We sit. We reflect.
Maud’s murder sparked a nationwide discussion about the safety, or lack thereof, for BIPOC runners. As more people learned the details of this atrocious killing and lack of justice, they engaged in the hashtag #RunForMaud to show their solidarity, to bring awareness, and work for justice.
On what would have been Maud’s 26th birthday, a new hashtag emerged: #IRunWithMaud. Folks across the country ran 2.23 miles, a nod to the date of Maud’ murder, and found connection in the hashtag as they ran alone.
One runner, Dr. Paris Butler, ran his miles on a treadmill after a long day of treating patients. As he ran, he reflected on a recently published article in The American Journal of Surgery titled Reducing the impact of violence on the health status of African-Americans: Literature review and recommendations from the Society of Black Academic Surgeons. The killing, he said, raised familiar anxieties about racism and inequality in the United States. “It’s just a reminder of how far we still need to go,” Dr. Butler said. (cite: NYT article)
Three years after Maud’s murder and in the US, we’re coming off of the deadliest year on record for racially motivated gun violence. Today we will ask you to run 2.23 miles for Maud. We will ask you to post it with the hashtag #IRunWithMaud. We will ask you to use that time to reflect on the injustices our BIPOC community members face on a daily basis. If you’re able, we will ask you to make a $23 donation to the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation. We will ask that you pause to take a breath at 1:14pm, the estimated time of Maud’s last breath.
But it’s not enough. It can’t stop there.
Today our call-in to you is to ask yourself how you are actively engaging in anti-racism work. This is a deeply personal question. How are you showing up for the people sweating next to you after announcements and coffee? How are you using your hill repeats to learn about the people next to you?
How are you living the November Project Community Agreements outside of the workouts? How are you growing into a globally informed, mindful community member through the influence of your local November Project? How are your actions showing the value you place on community members who have a different lived experience than you?
To ask these questions of oneself is to allow yourself a deep vulnerability. And we want to invite you to #JustShowUp. If today is the first day you’ve considered the answers to these questions, it’s ok. The work to undo the white supremist origins of our country is ongoing and it will take all of us, together, in community to move the needle forward.
Can we get a #Verbal?
