CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Painful memories surface when Jamaar Valentine thinks about running as a kid.
“I have many memories of intentionally being run off the road by various trucks,” he said. “I remember having to jump over ditches, (and) having people throw beer bottles and cans at me while running.”
To this day, it’s the little things he has to think about when he decides to take a run.
“For me as a Black man, there’s certain things I shouldn’t wear that a number of other people in the city can be very comfortable wearing,” Valentine said. “[It’s] not that I shouldn’t wear them, but personally for my own feeling of safety and security I would prefer not to wear those items so no one questions me or thinks of me as a threat.”
A threat is what three men saw in 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot and killed jogging in a Georgia neighborhood in February 2020.
“My thought was that could have happened to me easily,” Valentine said. “My thought was that could have happened to me easily,” Valentine said.
William Bryan, Travis McMicheal and Gregory McMichael were all found guilty last November of murdering Arbery.
As the second anniversary of Arbery’s killing approaches, Valentine and other runners in the state are working on something big.
A Durham organization called Together We Stand is hosting Maud 2.23, a 2.23-mile run/walk to honor Arbery’s life.
Together We Stand is working with runCLTrun, a digital platform started by Lisa Landrum, who connects people to Charlotte’s running scene.
“I’ve got kids, and so I always kind of look at it through their eyes (and) runCLTrun was born from that too,” she said. “I always kind of was frustrated and I would say things and kind of vent at home, and I just thought if I’m going to vent I also need to put some action behind that.”
Valentine’s running group plans to participate, but the two are hoping more people will come out for the event.
“If you are here in this community, we need people to step up and show up to say that we won’t stand for vicious acts like this here,” Valentine said.
Some might just see this as another run, but for Valentine this event shows the reality of the struggles he faces while doing something he loves.
“If you really don’t believe things like this can happen today, try running with someone that’s very different,” he said. “Try going for a run with another Black man anywhere in the South and just start to see the things we have to consider whether we are running in the city or in rural areas.”
Along with this event, run clubs across the state will be hosting a variety of events the week of February 20.
To learn more about this run or to register, you can find more information here.
