Memorials, lawsuit mark death anniversary
BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Family and friends walked in procession through the coastal subdivision where armed men chased and shot him in the street. Others joined his mother for a vigil at the rural church where he’s buried. Lawmakers paused to remember him at the Georgia state Capitol, and President Joe Biden offered thoughts on the slaying one year ago of Ahmaud Arber y.
When the 25-year-old was killed on Feb. 23, 2020, few outside this Georgia port city paid much attention at first. As three men await trial for murder, those closest to Arbery sought to make sure his death isn’t overlooked again.
“He isn’t going to rest in his grave until we get justice,” Marcus Arbery, Arbery’s father, said Tuesday evening as he and other family members led a group of about 100 suppor ters on a memorial march into the Satilla Shores subdivision.
That’s where Arber y died bleeding in the street from three close-range shotgun blasts after a white father and son armed themselves and pursued him in a pickup truck upon spotting the young Black man running in their neighborhood.
In rural Waynesboro, Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-jones, knelt by her son’s grave outside New Springfield Baptist Church ahead of a candlelight vigil with family and supporters wearing masks and blue ribbons, a nod to Arbery’s favorite color.
“I wouldn’t say that I’ve healed much,” CooperJones told WRDW-TV before the vigil. “I’ve learned to take it day by day, sometimes hour by hour.”
Hours earlier, CooperJones filed a civil lawsuit accusing the men charged in her son’s death and local authorities who first responded to the shooting of violating his civil rights. The complaint filed in U.S. District Court seeks $1 million. Attorneys for the men charged with killing Arber y say they suspected he was a burglar and they committed no crimes.
At the Georgia state Capitol in Atlanta, Democratic lawmakers joined civil rights activists to mark the anniversar y, which also got a mention from the White House.
“A Black man should be able to go for a jog without fearing for his life,” Biden tweeted Tuesday. “Today, we remember Ahmaud Arbery’s life and we dedicate ourselves to making this countr y safer for people of color.”
Immediately after the shooting, police inter viewed the men who chased Arber y down, and let them walk free. The first prosecutor assigned to the case saw no reason to bring charges. Pleas for justice by Arber y’s family went largely unheard as Georgia and the nation entered lockdown in the coronavirus pandemic.
“For a long time, it was like we were yelling into the dark, and nobody was listening,” said Jason Vaughn, Arbery’s high school football coach and an organizer of the Brunswick event.