Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man, was shot by two white men while on a run in his neighborhood in Georgia. The men blocked his running path with their white pick-up truck, emerged from the truck with a shotgun, engaged in an altercation with Arbery, and shot him three times. It took more than two months for the men involved to be arrested after two district attorneys recused themselves from the case and did not arrest the perpetrators. DA George Barnhill argued against their prosecution on the grounds of self-defense, Georgia's open carry laws, and citizen's arrest procedures. One man, Gregory McMichael, was a former officer with the Glynn County Police Department and was employed as an investigator in the local district attorney's office until he retired. A third man, who filmed the encounter from the pick-up truck, has not been arrested in connection with the case.
Arbery's family and his supporters have been arguing for the men to be prosecuted under hate crime laws, but Georgia does not have one on the books. While many people have been posting on social media about his death, here are 9 ways to take action in Arbery's name.
Run or walk 2.23 miles
Ahmaud Arbery was killed on February 23, 2020, while he was out jogging. Arbery was an avid runner who was known to jog around his neighborhood. In honor of him, people are running 2.23 miles on what would have been his 26th birthday, May 8.
Donate to a GoFundMe to help his family
A GoFundMe has been set up to help Ahmaud's family and to ensure that justice is served. Donate here.
Donate to the NAACP
The NAACP has declared their intention to seek justice for Ahmaud and to help remove the two DAs involved with the case from office. Read their mission statement and donate here.
Text JUSTICE to 55156
Texting JUSTICE to 55156 will add you to the list of people demanding the resignation of the district attorneys involved with Ahmaud's case.
Make calls to support the prosecution of his murderers
This website will guide you through calls to officials on the local, state, and federal level to voice your support for the prosecution of Ahmaud Arbery's killers, investigations into the mishandling of his case, and the resignation of two district attorneys.
Sign the petition to get justice for Ahmaud Arbery
Add your name to this petition demanding that justice be served in Ahmaud's case.
Call your senator to support the passage of the federal anti-lynching bill
The House passed a bill in late February that would add lynching to the United States Criminal Code. The bill is named the Emmet Till Antilynching Act in honor of Emmet Till who was lynched in 1955 by white men when he was only 14 years old. The bill still has to be reconciled with a similar bill passed by the Senate in 2019. The final version will then be sent to President Trump for his signature. You can call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and they will connect you to your senator's office.
Contact Georgia's Governor and state senators to advocate for a hate-crime law in the state
Georgia is one of only four states without a hate crime law in place. Gov. Brian Kemp (R) has signaled his support for the passage of a state hate crime law, but one was held up in the State Senate earlier this year. Contact the governor here, the State Senate majority leader here, the minority leader here, and members of the State Senate Judiciary Committee here.
Donate to the Equal Justice Initiative
The EJI is run by renowned public interest lawyer Bryan Stevenson and seeks to protect the unjustly accused, victims of racial profiling, and memorialize victims of lynching. Donate here.
