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

06/03/20 • 91 min

1 Listener

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!
We'd love to hear from you, so please follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook by searching for @thestartlinepod and subscribe to the show on your favourite podcast provider or at https://www.thestartlinepod.com!

Theme music: Street Festival by Franco Eneiro. Used under licence.

Support the show

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

Theme music: Street Festival by Franco Eneiro. Used under licence.

Support the show

Previous Episode

Ep 15 - We Run: TSL Meets... BRO - LETSGROW!

“BRO serves to organise, educate and condition the Black Community on the basis of running as a practical demonstration of unity. #LETSGROW”

This month we are excited to bring you a diverse running group from over the pond! All the way from Baltimore, we introduce you to Black Running Organisation (BRO)!!! TSL Girls speak to Isa Olufemi and his fiancée, Intea Deshields about why and how they set up BRO in 2014; what aims of the organisation; and how BRO is changing the look and feel of running, by increasing the number of black and diverse runners in Baltimore. In the words of BRO, LETSGROW!
We discuss how BRO is helping to shape and strengthen the communities in Baltimore and what the ethos is behind their important clarion cry of “LETSGROW!” We explore with Isa why he considers running to be a cultural principle for black people; the importance running has on the psyche of a black man; how it can be used to teach discipline, commitment and drive; and how the collective family achieves so much more than the pursuit of individualism so prevalent in Western society.
Isa, who worked as a college access program specialist with the CollegeBound Foundation in Baltimore, also speaks about his work setting up the Poet’s Pride Run Club which combines running and fitness with educational attainment. The Club, which secured funding for 4 years, worked to demonstrate the general importance of fitness, taking their students for a scheduled Unity Run every day at 7am, followed by individual and group advice sessions to help prepare students for college. The Club embodied the importance of commitment by requiring students who needed the support of the Club to commit to the running sessions in order to access the advice provided. Isa and his work with the Poet's Pride Rub Club was picked up in a number of media outlets, including a feature in Runners World Magazine.
Isa also explains why attendance at The Race in Atlanta every October must become a rites of passage run for every card carrying Runner of Colour!

This amazing, insightful discussion highlights the importance of forging and maintaining links with running groups of colour across the pond who are looking to change things up exponentially. TSL girls are so happy that we stumbled across BRO during Black October last year, as the group works to emphasise the message of pan-Africanism, focussing on black unity and black pride, making huge waves whilst doing so.
You can follow Black Running Organisation on Instagram: @blkrunorg or on Facebook @blkrunorg.
You can also follow The Race on Instagram: @therace_uc.
We'd love to hear from you, so please follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook by searching for @thestartlinepod and subscribe to the show on your favourite podcast provider or at https://www.thestartlinepod.com!

Theme music: Street Festival by Franco Eneiro. Used under licence.

Support the show

Next Episode

Ep 16 - What Happens When You Break The Silence?

After last episode’s round table discussion around why there is a reluctance in the UK and United States to talk about race, The Start Line Girls invite friends Tasha Thompson (@blackgirlsdorunuk) and Lara-Lee Green to discuss what happens when you do you break the silence to discuss race in what may be seen as traditionally white spaces - Tasha in the social pages of Runner’s World, and Lara-Lee in a Black Voices campaign launched by ITV. The Start Line Girls also share their experiences after Emancipated Run Crew were featured on The Running Channel, and Jules's involvement in the ITV Black Voices campaign.

Tasha and Lara-Lee talk about how it feels to be at the receiving end of negative comments, which largely contained demands for issues of race to be left out of running and off TV and many of which completely refused to acknowledge the existence of racism in the UK. They also discuss the importance of allies, the entrance of brands in the racial debate and their hopes for the future.
In the wake of the Black Live Matters demonstrations which erupted across the world following the killing of George Floyd, and in the shadow of the earlier deaths of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, negative reactions to discussion around race simply serve to demonstrate why we must continue to break the silence on issues concerning race and racial injustice - as unless we shine a light on these issues they will continue to hide in plain sight within our society.

You can find out more about the ITV Black Voices Campaign by visiting the website here, where you can watch both Lara-Lee and Jules’s videos, and you can follow BlackGirlsDoRunUK on instagram by searching for @blackgirlsdorunuk. You can also check out The Running Channel feature on Emancipated Run Crew here.

We'd love to hear from you, so please follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook by searching for @thestartlinepod and subscribe to the show on your favourite podcast provider or at https://www.thestartlinepod.com! And don’t forget to rate and review us!

Theme music: Street Festival by Franco Eneiro. Used under licence.

Support the show