Running While Black Shouldn’t Be a Death Sentence

F.E.A.R. participants before a run. Photo from Social X.

A sunny Sunday afternoon on February 23, a black male named Ahmaud Arbery was out on a run in a Georgia neighborhood. He was spotted by a father and son who chased him, gunned him down in cold blood in the middle of the street. Just this week, footage was released of the incident and it has gone absolutely viral. The individuals responsible for his death had not been arrested or charged, until May 7, 2020. Ahmaud was killed for going on a run as a black man in America.

F.E.A.R. (Forget Everything and Run). F.E.A.R. is a diverse community of runners of all levels determined to change the narrative of Milwaukee through running. F.E.A.R. is one of the most successful health and wellness programs under the Social X programming umbrella. Social X is a young professional organization that encourages millennials of color to enjoy and reside in and also attract talent to Milwaukee.

Each week, runners of different backgrounds and genders gather on Tuesdays from April until late October at the Riverwest Filling Station at 6:30 p.m. to run together and socialize. With the goals of bringing acceptance and diversity to the sport of distance running, and breaking down cultural and racial barriers, these efforts help bring awareness to the senseless violent acts like the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.

As a run crew, F.E.A.R. makes it a point to gather and run all over the city of Milwaukee to encourage people of color to run together in unity and to create safe spaces in all neighborhoods. It is every person’s privilege and freedom to go out for a run in their own neighborhood and the surrounding ones without being chased down and killed.

On May 8th, 2020, we will Forget Everything And Run for Ahmaud #iRunWithMaud. Join us as we honor and celebrate his life by running 2.23 miles (The day he was murdered) and use the following hashtags: #irunwithmaud, #runwithmaud, and #justiceforahmaud.

You can learn more about Ahmaud Arbery by visiting runwithmaud.com and F.E.A.R. and Social X by following both groups on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter (@socialxmke / @fearmke) and the website socialxmke.com.

Tenia Fisher, Danielle Nabak & Ranell Washington are organizers for F.E.A.R. and Social X.