BONUS: TSL In The Round - Breaking The Silence: The Case of Ahmaud Arbery

In this special bonus episode of The Start Line, recorded prior to the murder of George Floyd on Monday 25 May 2020, we discuss the tragic murder of Ahmaud Arbery. A 25 year old black man who loved running. Ahmaud was out running on the afternoon 23 February 2020 when he was hunted down, trapped, and shot to death around 1.30pm in the afternoon by two white men, father and son, Gregory and Travis McMichael in Brunswick, Glynn County, Georgia US. The full details of this incident can be found here in this NY TImes article: https://www.nytimes.com/article/ahmaud-arbery-timeline.html

We bring together a group of runners from the UK and the US to discuss the circumstances around Ahmaud’s death and question how, in 2020, we are still dealing with the fall out from centuries of racism, power imbalance and injustice in our societies. We also raise the question of why, particularly in the running community/publications/brands, there was a deafening silence in relation to Ahmaud’s death. We face head on the issues around the discomfort felt by people discussing openly, with people who are not of colour, the issues around race, privilege and power. Finally, we explore what can we all do to be the change we want to see.

We give thanks to God for this platform and to our contributors, each of whom taught us so much and helped us to look at things in slightly different way:

Trojan Gayle (@thebeardedrunner and @emancipatedruncrew)

Calvin Stovell (@re_cal_ibratingand @emancipatedruncrew)

Matilda Egere-Cooper (@flygirlcollective)

Natasha Thomson (@blackgirlsdorunuk)

William Wesley Walker Jr (@brunchnburn)

Stephen Adjaidoo (@ldnbrunchclub)

Peter Daining (@dainingpeter)

Isa Olufemi (@blkrunorg)

Ari Anisfield

This is an honest, educational discussion which we hope will be used as a catalyst for similar discussions and calls to action across the globe. ITS TIME TO BREAK THE SILENCE!
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Theme music: Street Festival by Franco Eneiro. Used under licence.