The murder of young Black jogger Ahmaud Arbery by two white men has triggered many people to act by speaking out, protesting and even jogging.
The hashtag #RunWithAhmaud created a movement. People jogged on what would have been Arbery’s 26th birthday — May 8 — running 2.23 miles to mark the date when the Georgia resident was murdered on Feb. 23.
One of the people who went for a jog that day was a 34-year-old former pastor, Richard Demsick from Vero Beach, Florida.
Demsick, who is white, ran more than two miles with a flat-screen TV under his arm to prove that the color of his skin was enough to protect him from meeting the same fate as Arbery, according to Insider.
Demsick posted a video of himself jogging on TikTok that garnered more than 1 million views, The New York Post reported.
“I just started crying when I just saw this poor young man running — as I have thousands of times in my life — get shot down,” he told Insider.
Demsick said he thought, “Maybe I should run with a TV to show that being a suspicious character isn’t enough that someone should be shot down. Being a white person, that’s just not going to happen to me.”
In the video he said, “All right, I’ve figured it out. I got my hat on backwards, I’m shirtless like I’m on some episode of ‘Cops,’ I’m running with a TV, someone’s going to stop me now for sure, ’cause, if not, what was the problem with Ahmaud?”
No one bothered him. “Not a soul” so much as asked him later what he was up to, he said.
Demsick isn’t the only person to run in honor of Aubrey. Hundreds did, and many spoke out against his murder.
More than 60 current and former NFL players and coaches signed a letter asking Attorney General William Barr to investigate the fatal shooting of Arbery, NBC News reported.
The letter is from the Players Coalition, a social justice group formed in 2017 after players protested police brutality during the national anthem before games. In the letter, the coalition said the Justice Department and the FBI are needed to ensure that Arbery‘s case won’t be mishandled by local authorities.
NFL star Malcolm Jenkins co-founded the coalition with retired wide receiver Anquan Boldin.
“The sad truth is that Ahmaud’s case isn’t unique at all,” Jenkins told NBC News. “He is a representation of the ongoing level of distrust that a large part of our communities have in law enforcement and elected officials and the importance of placing reform like-minded people in office who will uphold the highest standards of the law for everyone, regardless of color.”
Among those who support the Players Coalition’s letter are former player Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president; Miami Dolphins linebacker Kyle Van Noy; New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman; and former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, now of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
NFL icon Tom Brady also lent his support to the Players Coalition letter, USA Today reported.
“It just goes to show that people are tired of (the injustice) happening,” Boldin said Monday on ESPN. “We’ve seen it over and over again, and far too long, we’ve allowed it to go on and not speak out about it. So, to have someone like Tom Brady sign the letter, it was very significant.”
“The FBI and DOJ have an army of resources, and their goal never changes: to protect the vulnerable and intervene where powerful people have caused grave harm,” Jenkins said. “They obtained a guilty verdict in the Rodney King case. They held the perpetrators of the Danziger Bridge shootings accountable. They have prosecuted guards at Parchman prisons. And they have led investigations all over the country that have proved critical in restoring trust between law enforcement and people of color.”
Jenkins jogged for 2.23 miles to remember Arbery.
Oprah Winfrey contacted Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, with a surprise phone call and a gift on what would have been Arbery’s birthday, TMZ reported. Oprah told Wanda she hopes the family gets justice and said she walked 2.23 miles to honor Ahmaud.
Cooper-Jones said Gayle King and Rev. Jesse Jackson also called her.
NPR has come up with an idea for the general public to express their feelings over the shooting, organizing a poetry writing initiative around the murder of Arbery.
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NPR’s resident poet Kwame Alexander and Morning Edition’s Rachel Martin said they believe people can express through poetry how they feel about the tragic incident.
“Like most human beings, I find myself drowning in anger, anxiety, fear and still more anger,” Alexander said. “And as an American, I see the murder of African American boys as a disease that America cannot seem to cure.”
People can submit their poems and Alexander will then create a crowdsourced poem using lines from submissions. He and Martin will read it on air, and NPR will publish it online, where contributors will be credited.
