Running For Ahmaud Arbery
On Friday, May 8th, I laced up my running shoes to go for an afternoon run. It was a run that was similar to many others. As I fought through the bitter Chicago winds I thought about my hopes and dreams both athletically and professionally. The beauty of a run is that you can get lost in your own daydreams. You can escape the world around you for a short period of time and contemplate the steps you want to take in life. It is a sacred space where you can put your life on hold and improve yourself physically and mentally.
It does not matter if you are training to compete for the top of the podium, seeking to lose a few pounds, or even interact with friends. All runners step out of their homes and take to the streets or trails in order to further their dreams. Dreams that runners hope they can build on and accomplish once they return home from their run. Regardless of the reason for why each individual goes on a run, no runner leaves their home with the belief that they will not return. On February 23, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, surely set out on his afternoon run with this belief. On that fateful day, however, Ahmaud would not return home.
Ahmaud, while on his run, was shot and killed by Gregory McMichael and his 34-year-old son Travis McMichael. Gregory McMichael, a former law enforcement officer and detective, claimed that he recognized Ahmaud as a suspect from a series of burglaries that had taken place months prior. Gregory apparently was able to recognize Ahmaud enough so that both Travis and Gregory armed themselves before jumping into their pickup truck to stalk Ahmaud. The father-son duo caught up to Ahmaud before eventually blocking Ahmaud’s path on the road with their vehicle. Ahmaud tried to run around the obstacle but Travis exited the vehicle and incited a short scuffle. There is debate as to the precise events that took place during the scuffle between Ahmaud, Gregory and Travis, but it cannot be denied that the McMichael duo instigated the entire conflict.
As a longtime runner I am used to obstacles getting in the way of my intended path. Blocked routes, construction and mother nature are all common obstacles that I have faced. What I have not experienced on a run, however, are the obstacles that were put in front of Ahmaud on that fateful February day. Never have I experienced two men, in plain clothes, intentionally block my path, and then exit their vehicle with guns drawn. This is a scenario that will almost certainly never happen to the average runner but for Ahmaud it was an experience that cost him his life.
If I were put in that situation, I likely would have reacted similarly to Ahmaud. Do I keep running and take the chance that these two armed men shoot me from behind? Do I stand in the street and potentially get kidnapped? There is no way I would have known the intentions of these assailants. In all likelihood I would have believed that my own life was in jeopardy. There is a good chance I would have thrown a few punches at the assailants in order to protect myself.
While it is a hard truth for a number of people, Ahmaud was targeted in this situation because he was Black. There are few safe spaces for Black Americans to go in this country without being profiled. A run is supposed to an outlet for runners to escape daily profiling, and Ahmaud was doing something that he loved by running. He had dreams that he intended to accomplish once he returned home from his run. Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael, however, decided that their need to play vigilante cowboy was more important and ended Ahmaud’s life far too soon.
Because of this incident, aspiring young Black runners may be dissuaded from participating in running, especially if it requires running through neighborhoods that are not their own. This has the effect of collaring Black men and instilling fear. If two white men, who are not operating under the cover of law enforcement, can simply grab their guns, follow you, kill you and then get off free, then why would one risk their life by going for a daily run? The fact that it took over two months and the public release of the video to even indict Gregory and Travis is a massive stain on the criminal justice system.
Had two Black men subjectively believed that a White man had committed a burglary and then proceeded to stalk, shoot and kill that man, then the Black vigilantes would have been taken into custody on the spot. There is a double standard in the criminal justice system. Americans must not only acknowledge this but advocate for wholesale change to its very structure .
The entire criminal justice system, from Police to the local District Attorney failed in their duty to protect and serve the American people. Instead they decided to engage in corruption to protect their friends and cover up the true circumstances of this killing. Police reports were falsified and the circumstances of the killing were kept under wraps despite Judicial Circuit District Attorney George Barnhill supposedly having knowledge of the video in question.
Georgia's Self-Defense law states that the use of deadly force is not justified if “you’re the initial aggressor.” Barnhill’s interpretation that both Gregory and Travis were not the initial aggressors is dubious at best and malignant at its worst. The fact that Barnhill, who has recused himself from the case, wrote that he couldn’t find sufficient probable cause to even indict Gregory and Travis under Georgia’s Felony Murder Statute is truly baffling from a legal standpoint.
As an Illinois Attorney, I see several similarities in Ahmaud Arbery’s death to that of Chicago’s horrific treatment of the Laquan McDonald murder. In both cases, a Black man was murdered despite not posing any threat of physical harm to the White man who shot him. Both instances saw the shootings swept under the rug by their respective criminal justice systems before the public release of video evidence. Each time the videos largely exonerated the Black men from the crimes they were alleged to have committed. It is appalling that the shooters responsible for Ahmaud and McDonald’s respective deaths would have still been free men if it weren’t for the release of video evidence to the public. Americans should not have to publicly shame the criminal justice system just to force the arrest of murder suspects months after the actual incident took place.
My heart goes out to Ahmaud’s family and friends. I can only imagine the excruciating pain his parents must have felt to not only lose their son but to be repeatedly lied to about the circumstances of his death. On Friday, May 8th I laced up my shoes and ran a few miles in solidarity with #IRunWithMaud. Had his life not been taken from him, Ahmaud Arbery would have likely laced up his own shoes to head out for an afternoon run on May 8th. As a fellow runner I intend to carry Ahmaud’s hopes and dreams with me on each run I take from here on out. I call on my fellow runners to do the same and honor a man who enjoyed his daily run just the same as all of us.