Ahmaud Arbery, the 25-year-old unarmed Black man who was fatally shot while out for a jog in Georgia, would have turned 26 years old today (May 8). To remember his death and love for fitness, supporters began the #IRunWithMaud Twitter hashtag on Wednesday (May 6), in an effort to encourage others to jog 2.23 miles — an observation of the date of his death — on Arbery’s birthday.
Now, many have flocked to Twitter to share their jogs in honor of Arbery, while others wear shirts that read, “Exercising while Black should not be a death sentence.”
“Running today in memory of this young man who was taken from his family way too soon in a senseless violent act,” one Twitter user wrote. “Happy Birthday Ahmaud and Rest In Peace.”
“#irunwithmaud Because mothers shouldn’t have to worry that their sons won’t make it home from their runs,” another tweeted.
Arbery’s birthday arrives one day after Gregory and Travis McMichael were arrested and charged for murder and aggravated assault. In the police report, they argued that Arbery resembled a suspect from a series of robberies in the area. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) announced it would host a press conference for local media about the McMichaels’ arrest on Friday morning (May 8). The conference is available to watch on Facebook.
According to a press statement from the GBI, the agency was requested to investigate Arbery’s death by the District Attorney Tom Durden and the Glynn County Police Department on May 5.
In his press conference, GBI Director Vic Reynolds said that the agency’s investigation will “hit the ground running” and “bear every resource and all the experience this agency has.”
“The governor of this state wants justice done in this case, as does the GBI, and I am confident that we will deliver that,” Reynolds said on Friday (May 8).
See some of the Twitter users participating in #IRunWithMaud below.