A group of 14 bicyclists held a remembrance ride Saturday for Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick. The slow 5-mile ride was organized by the Gullah/Geechee Club and BRAG Dream Team and led by Anita Collins. The goal, Collins said, was to bring people together and protect the memory of Arbery, who was murdered in 2020. The ride included a visit to the Veterans Memorial Park and honorary Ahmaud Arbery Street, as well as stopping at murals of Mrs. Georgia Gibbs and Rev. Julius Ceasar Hope.
Marcus Arbery, Sr., Ahmaud Arbery’s father, said the ride is important for several reasons.
“I’m riding for my son, the one them three men chased down and killed for nothing, that’s what I’m riding for. He’d run two miles every day, so now I’m doing them for him today. That’s the purpose of me being on the bike ride.”
He was happy to see others join the ride. “They’re making time, trying to make changes in the world trying to show the world that everybody can get along. That’s a good thing, bringing people together.”
Anita Collins of Brunswick organized the ride. ”Just don’t forget [Ahmaud}… just keeping that connection between now and then,” she said. “A lot of people have forgotten about Ahmaud’s murder, but we don’t forget.”
“Now, there’s no flashing lights. The cameras are gone, but we are still here… Next month, we will honor our fifth year of doing this ride,” Collins said. “When we set out to do this. I had no expectations of it being anything other than a one time thing. But the family said, oh, we need to do this… yeah, we’ll be here next year. God willing and the creek don’t rise.”
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