NEW YORK - It’s been just over one year since Ahmaud Arbery was chased and gunned down by two white men in Georgia.

When video of the shocking incident went viral last May, it not only sparked nationwide outrage, it marked the first time that many people even became aware of Arbery’s death, which had taken place several weeks earlier, in February, while he was jogging.

What You Need To Know

  • Ahmaud Arbery was shot to death on February, 23, 2020 in Georgia while he was jogging

  • Video of Arbery’s death went viral weeks later in early May leading to nationwide outrage and ultimately murder charges being filed

  • One Brooklyn running group that meets on Thursdays dedicated their run this week to Arbery, helping to raise funds for his family

  • The group ran 2.23 miles to coincide with the date of his death on February 23

Arbery was on many people’s mind Thursday’s night in Bedford-Stuyvesant as joggers went on a special run to observe the first anniversary of his death.

“Whose lives matter?” Jerry Francois of Bedford-Stuyvesant asked, using a bull horn, as he led a group of runners. “Black Lives Matter!” the group responded.

For Francois, an avid runner born and raised in Brooklyn, leading a group of more than two-dozen runners took on a special meaning Thursday, as they met up for their weekly run.

Francois tells NY1, his group set out to run exactly 2.23 miles this week to remember the death of fellow runner, Arbery.

It also made Arbery a focal point of many Black Lives Matter protests.

“Him being African-American, like myself,” said Francois, “and us both having that passion for running, so that hit close to home, just hearing about the unfortunate events of his murder.”

Francois, who is also a young father, tells us he considers running a form of free therapy.

“Just something that helps me with my anxiety, depression, and things that I go with in life,” he says.

Francois told NY1, the special run also served as a fundraiser to help Arbery’s family, as they raise money for scholarships to help people in Black and brown communities fight social injustice.

With running never far from his thoughts, Francois says not only does every Black life matter, every Black mile also matters.

“We’re just trying to finish our run,” Francois said. “Finishing our run, meaning, actually living to tell the story, we completed this run, this marathon, this mile because we don’t know if we’ll ever get another chance to, like Ahmaud Arbery. He never got to finish his run.”