We Must Acknowledge, Mourn, and Figure Out How to Do Better

This was my trail last night. I needed some exercise and wanted to glimpse the sunset. I put a novel in my ears and took off alone with zero thought except that it was nice to be out in the crisp air.

This is not the reality of my friends with black and brown skin. I cannot imagine the weight they bear: mothers worried for their sons, fathers knowing their skin alone is a perceived threat, teens aware their lives are considered disposable. #ahmaudarbery was just out for a run. That’s it. Exercising in the open air. And murdered for it.

Today I am mourning with those who mourn. And tomorrow #irunwithmaud- 2.23 miles (he died on 2/23) for what should have been his 26th birthday. And then the days and weeks and years after that I will beg the Lord to show me how to honor and care for his image bearers of color. We must acknowledge this evil, mourn it, and figure out how to do better as a people.

We have too many personal friends who are black and brown men who have been arrested and mistreated without cause for me to think that Ahmaud Arbery’s murder was a mistake, a one-time horror. This is life for our friends of color. And my life is here, on a trail, without concern. That’s not ok.

Author’s Note: I first posted this on social media on 5/7/2020.