Black Women Are Using Running to Fight White Supremacy
By Kayla Stewart 16 hrs ago
When Sylvia Jimerson laced up her shoes on May 8, 2020, she prepared herself for a meaningful run. Rather than focusing on her fitness, her miles that day would be part of a resistance to the racism and white supremacy that seemed to impact every part of American society this year.
Jimerson and her daughters, Syrae, 11, and Jayda, 9, joined thousands of others who laced up to “Run With Ahmaud,” a virtual event meant to remember Ahmaud Arbery. Arbery’s killing sent waves through the running community, with organizations like Harlem Run Club, Latinos Run, and Runner’s World running in his honor. Jimerson brought Syrae and Jada with her to teach them about the reality of being Black in America: that one can be shot and killed simply because of the color of their skin. “These conversations are not easy, but we have to have them with our Black children,” Jimerson says.
This year has been especially trying for Black people around the nation. After George Floyd’s brutal killing was caught on camera in late May 2020, protests erupted across the nation, demanding justice for him, Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and all the other Black Americans who are no longer here because of systemic racism. This has coincided with a global pandemic that has disproportionately devastated Black communities in the U.S., with Black Americans dying from COVID-19 at three times the rate of white people. Some Black women, searching for peace and self care, have resisted stress and exhaustion by running their way through frustrations about ongoing racism, statistically tragic health outcomes in the community, and inequality.
“Running is part of a healthy lifestyle, but it’s also self care, which is resistance,” Jimerson says. “The most important thing we can do during this social justice moment is to keep running.”
Jimerson is a member of Black Girls RUN! (BGR), a national group that advocates for Black women’s health and fitness. BGR and other Black-focused running groups have proved invaluable as connection points for the community in such a high-stress time. RUNGRL, another running group dedicated to Black women, aims to celebrate the Black distance runner through storytelling, resource sharing, and community. Ashlee Green, of Washington, D.C., is a cofounder and CEO of the RUNGRL organization. She emphasizes the need to normalize Blackness, especially in the running community.
“A Black man or Black woman running down the street is still not normal, and I recognize that, and I think about that all the time when I’m running,” Green says. “So continuing to run and expanding our communities is a great way to bring awareness to us as people and as humans and as beings who live these full lives.”
Amid the ongoing turmoil due to systemic racism in America, Green has found herself reevaluating why running is so important in her life. “Continuing to run is resistance,” Green says. “Despite knowing that I might die on my run, I still do it. Continuing to try and live right now is resistance in itself.”
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Posted By: Dea. Ron Gray Sr.
Friday, May 14th 2021 at 10:13AM
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