Georgia designates Feb. 23 as Ahmaud Arbery Day, Fox 5 Atlanta, February 22, 2022
Feb. 23 will now be known in Georgia as Ahmaud Arbery Day.
State Rep. Sandra Scott, [Right] a Democrat who represents Clayton County, introduced a resolution designating Feb. 23 “annually in the State of Georgia as The Ahmaud Arbery Day.”
The date was chosen because that was the day in 2020 that 25-year-old Arbery was shot and killed while jogging in Glynn County, Georgia.
On that day, father and son Greg and Travis McMichael armed themselves and used a pickup truck to chase Arbery after spotting him running in their coastal Georgia neighborhood. A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, joined the chase in his own truck and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael blasting Arbery with a shotgun.
No arrests were made until the video leaked online two months later.
Both McMichaels and Bryan were convicted of murder last fall in a Georgia state court and sentenced to life in prison.
All three are now standing trial in a separate case in U.S. District Court, where they are charged with violating Arbery’s civil rights and with targeting him because he was Black. They have pleaded not guilty.
The resolution describes Arbery as a loving son, brother, uncle, grandson, nephew, cousin, and friend “who left an impact on countless Georgians and Americans.”
The resolution also encourages members of the community to run 2.23 miles on that day to advocate for racial equality.
The bill, which was co-sponsored by three Democrats and one Republican, passed earlier in February.