Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was killed while jogging though a Georgia neighborhood, has been named the 25th member of the Honorary Boston Marathon Team.
The Boston Marathon announced the news on their official Instagram account. “The 25th member of the Honorary Boston Marathon Team was known in his community as an avid runner,” they captioned a photo of Arbery. “In February, while Ahmaud Arbery was out for an afternoon run in Georgia, he was shot and killed.
“The deaths of Ahmaud, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless others are a tragic reminder of the racial injustice that exists today.”
“The [Boston Athletic Association] believes that everyone — no matter their race, gender, or background — should be able to advance their well-being by running safely and without fear or discrimination of any kind,” the caption continued. “Though Ahmaud never ran the Boston Marathon, this year, we run for Ahmaud. #BlackLivesMatter.”
Arbery was fatally shot by Gregory McMichael and his son Travis as he ran though a local neighborhood. The McMichaels and alleged accomplice William Bryan were each charged with nine counts— including felony murder — for the shooting. They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Last month, Arbery’s family honored him by hosting a community bike ride. They rode 2.23 miles alongside community leaders who demanded justice for his death.
The bike ride marked six months since he was killed and the family is still reeling with this passing. “For me, for the last six months. I’ve been struggling,” his uncle Gary Arbery said. “I still don’t feel like it’s real. I go to bed thinking about him, I wake up thinking about him.”
“I can live with an accident, but the way it happened and the way he got killed, that’s something I can’t accept,” he continued. “This man was lynched, straight up lynched, so that’s hard to deal with.”
Check out the Boston Marathon’s Instagram post below.