With only 3 weeks left, Atlanta and the whole country get ready to celebrate the life and legacy of
Ahmaud Arbery. Please contact us to schedule an interview with Wanda Cooper Jones, the founder of
the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation and Ahmaud’s mother.
The Run with Maud 5K Run/Walk, an initiative to celebrate the life of Ahmaud Arbery and raise funds
for the foundation established in his name, will take place on May 6 in Centennial Olympic Park.
The announcement came at a community conversation hosted by the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation and
Atlanta Track Club Foundation on 2/23, three years after the Brunswick, Georgia, man was shot and
killed on February 23, 2020, while out for a run. The conversation was led by Wanda Cooper-Jones –
Arbery’s mother – and Alison Mariella Désir, author of “Running While Black.”
“Ahmaud ran to feel free,” said Cooper-Jones, who created the foundation. “It is the goal of the
Ahmaud Arbery Foundation for all people to enjoy running for their mental and physical health. The
Run with Maud 5K will raise awareness for that vision and funding to provide mental health resources
for black boys.”
Ahmaud Arbery would have turned 29 just two days after the run-walk.
“Over the last 47 years, I have run in 35 countries and almost every state in the union – more than
40,000 miles,” said Rich Kenah, CEO of Atlanta Track Club, which will serve as organizer of the
run-walk. “Never once have I felt unsafe because of the color of my skin. The murder
of Ahmaud Arbery brought that home to me like nothing had before. For Atlanta Track Club to play a
role in an initiative that will further his legacy in raising that kind of awareness is an honor.”
The run-walk will begin at 8 a.m. on May 6, with all proceeds benefitting the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation.
Registration is now open. It will be part of a day-long celebration of running in downtown Atlanta. Later in the day, Centennial Olympic Park will host the Running City Mile and the adidas Atlanta City Games.
In her mission to create safe space for Black and Brown boys to run freely, the Ahmaud Arbery
Foundation was founded by Wanda Cooper-Jones in 2020 after the racially-charged murder of her
son, Ahmaud Arbery – who was simply on a run that day.
As someone who experienced mental health challenges, Ahmaud ran to feel free. And the foundation
is ensuring Black and Brown boys like him have secure opportunities to progress their mental and
physical health.
In Ahmaud’s hometown of Brunswick, Georgia, Ahmaud Arbery Park was named in his honor on
February 23, 2022. Safe passage running trails secure space for anyone to ‘Run with Maud’ on their
way.
Throughout the community, the foundation will provide athletic departments with much-needed physical
education supplies. And the ‘Run with Maud’ movement will allow runners everywhere to help raise
funds to progress the mental and physical health of Black and Brown boys around the world.
We run to feel free. We run to just be. And the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation is securing that opportunity
for all.
Go to AhmaudArberyFoundation.org to join the run.
