#FinishTheRun Memorial Walk and Candlelight Vigil for Ahmaud Arbery

AdvocacyCommunityEnvironmental JusticeReflections

Mar 23

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On the one-year memorial of Ahmaud Arbery’s death on 23 February 2021, a diverse group of people from all walks of life gathered in Satilla Shores to commemorate this slain Black man’s life. The event was sponsored by the Arbery Family and the 2:23 Foundation – a nonprofit in Brunswick created to combat social injustices so that young Black and Brown bodies can grow up in a world of equity and equality. We gathered to symbolically finish the run that Ahmaud Arbery anticipated completing before being followed, corralled like an animal, and shot dead by a White father-son vigilante team while another White neighbor filmed the horrendous event with his cell phone. It was 5:30 pm. The sun was beginning to set when more than three hundred masked folks gathered at the entrance of Satilla Shores, a subdivision near Brunswick in unincorporated Glynn County, Georgia. Once over the Sydney Lanier Bridge, the local traffic was slowed to almost a standstill as dozens of police officers directed traffic and guided vigil participant to safe parking places on the side of the road.There is something so unnatural about the reason we were gathering as the backdrop was this enchanted place of exceeding grace and natural beauty where God’s creative handiwork assuring humanity that there is enough for us all. There are the marshes of Glynn, the mystical epiphytes or Spanish moss which live so symbiotically on the live oak trees. There is something for humans to learn about this kind of relationship. On occasion a wild heron was seen pecking for food. And just to the east is the Atlantic Ocean and the most beautiful horizon weighed down by the setting sun but pulled by the waiting moon. No wonder this place is called the “Golden Isles.”By 5:50pm, it was time to begin the vigil. Through the megaphone the organizers began the rallying cry, “I run with Maud!” and candles were distributed to everyone. A prayer was spoken. Marcus Arbery, Ahmaud’s father, reiterated their demand for justice. Remembrances of the love and joy that Ahmaud had for his family and friends, and the potential that he would have given this world had he lived. The large crowd of three hundred or more people each holding their candles headed north, and at about four hundred feet, we turned east into Satilla Shores Subdivision to trace the last footsteps of Ahmaud Arbery.I remember the sound was of feet moving and birds chirping in the background. We walked for what seemed like never-ending miles. There was some low-talking. But mostly it was a quiet, solemn, slow-paced walk through the community which was full of maze-like streets and cul-de-sacs. The layout of the subdivision itself was a cul-de-sac of some sort. And there were unmarked local and state law enforcement vehicles posted at almost every intersection in the community.As we walked, I noticed several “Dead End” signs. My mind meandered to the video plastered on television and social media which captured Ahmaud’s murder. As we continued walking, it suddenly occurred to me that he had run these very streets, and that he had no way out. I had a vision of a fawn running through the woods and unknowingly heading into a hunter’s net. And behind my mask I cried quietly. I cried for Ahmaud. I cried for the depravity of humanity. I cried for his mother and father –that their innocent baby had been caught in a net of racial violence and hatred in part because of the color of his skin.Once at the intersecting streets where Ahmaud’s body fell to the ground bleeding after being shot twice, our caravan of justice stopped, and Ahmaud’s aunt began explaining what it meant to the Arbery Family to have so many people joining them on the sad occasion. She expressed that she does not wish the nightmares that they have daily on their worst enemy, and that just that morning they attended family grief counseling just to be able to have enough mental stamina for what the day would hold for them. The murder had been aired on local, national, and international news. It would be aired and talked about all day in the news cycles. She said, “Our father taught us to love everybody. Blacks, Chinese, Mexicans. Everybody! I don’t hate anyone. But Ahmaud deserves justice for what happened right here.”She stated further, “When I got the call I could not and did not believe that Ahmaud was dead. I drove to this very spot and saw for myself. I saw the blood still wet on the ground. I refused to believe that it was real. I had on a white shirt that day, and I took off my clean white shirt and dipped it into the red blood stain on the street right where we are standing.” Tearfully, she said “Its hard y’all. But y’all being here means a lot…that we’re not going through this alone. I love all of y’all, and there ain’t nothing y’all can do about it.”By then, it was well approaching 7:00pm. It was dark. But the solar- and battery-operated candle lights lit our paths. The vigil was almost over when one of Ahmaud Arbery’s former high school football coaches took the megaphone and commanded everyone to continue working, running, walking, serving and being a light for justice.Moments later, the vigil was over. The crowd began to disperse. The trek back to our cars parked on the side of the road was nearly two miles. It was mostly quiet and somber, and folks were walking different paces. Slowly coming into view was the main street and I realized we were right where we started. We were nearing the finish line that Ahmaud did not the opportunity to reach.I had begun to slow down. But to my right was a White woman holding her light and her pace was as slow as mine. I was tired. She appeared to be a decade or so older than me, and it was clear that she was tired, too. I glanced at her and she caught my eye. We both had a look as if we each could have said something had the previous event not been so somber, and unnecessary. I looked away. We were strangers to one another, but still walking lock-step slow with one another. Then I whispered “Thank you for being an ally.” Her reply was slow and in a rather matter-of-fact way that only comes to elders who have lived a long time, “We are all human.” We probably will not ever see one another again. But her words of wisdom still ring true in my ears.WE ARE ALL HUMAN.Racism is an assassination of the character of the Creator. It is a lie about our neighbors—about people who do not look the same as others. It places some people in superior positions and others in inferior positions. And therein is the problem with our America – the double standards based on race. Its roots are systemic and for far too long it has been a cankerworm penetrating and degrading the rights of humans to live freely and justly, and to pursue happiness.What kinds of action will it take to end racism?Let’s think about this, and then act on it as we consider: just why did Ahmaud Arbery die?Let’s determine that we will see and value every human as God sees her/him/them.Ahmaud Arbery was a “child of the Universe," no less than the trees and the stars; [he] had a right to be here. Our collective environmental goals on healing the planet cannot and will not be solved until there is a collective determination and harmony to include all of Creation.____________________________________________________________________Hermina Glass-Hill, MHP is GIPL's Coastal Engagement Associate, working with Georgia coastal faith communities to assist with greening their worship practices. She is a Creation Care steward, scholar activist, writer, and grassroots organizer in Coastal Georgia. Hermina is the founder of the Susie King Taylor Women’s Institute and Ecology Center, a nonprofit organization that links the history of chattel slavery to ecological destruction and promotes environmental education. Hermina studied at Spelman College and Georgia State University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in History with a concentration in African American Studies and Environmental Justice and a Master of Arts in Heritage Preservation.Learn more about Hermina.____________________________________________________________________The GIPL team is available to help create safe space for faithful dialogue around justice, race, and inclusion and/or connect you with anti-racism leaders and workshops in Georgia. The issues of racial justice and a legacy of white supremacy in America are NOT separate from the discussion and actions taken around environmental justice. If you have questions or need clarity on something in the blog above, please do not hesitate to reach out to our team at info@gipl.org. Remember: The only bad question is a question unasked.Additionally, we encourage you to take some time this summer to explore those issues that make you uncomfortable. If you are a White person in America, you have experienced the benefits of systemic racism. This is not to say that White people do not face struggles, but instead, a system all people were born into, inherited from our various ancestors, gives non-Persons of Color a significant advantage in life from birth.