Ahmaud Arbery Day has been officially recognized in Georgia on the second anniversary of Arbery’s death.
On February 2, the Georgia General Assembly passed a resolution to permanently declare Feb. 23 to be Ahmaud Arbery Day, just one day after his killers were found guilty on all counts in the federal hate crime surrounding his death.
The Georgia General Assembly encouraged the community to “run with ‘Maud,” by running 2.23 miles annually on this day, as a call for racial justice and equity in honor of Ahmaud who was killed while jogging.
“Nothing will bring my son back, but I know that God wants us to repurpose the pain, my pain into service to make life better for other young men,” Cooper-Jones said at an event at the National Center of Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta.
She added, “It is my honor to serve others in this way in recognition of my son’s life.”
Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was chased down and shot to death by the three men while he was out for a Sunday jog on Feb. 23, 2020, in Brunswick. All three men have also been convicted in connection with his murder.
Gregory McMichael, his son, Travis McMichael, and their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, were found guilty of being motivated by racial hate, interfering with Arbery’s civil rights and attempted kidnapping in Arbery’s death.
Travis McMichael, who delivered the fatal shot, and Gregory McMichael were sentenced to life without possible parole. Bryan, 53, was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.
“We got justice for Ahmaud in the federal and the state,” Arbery’s father, Marcus Arbery, said following the jury’s announcement.
