“Maud runs” in Greensboro and High Point honor Ahmaud Arbery, create spaces for conversation about racial justice
February 21, 2023
Category: Event
Tags: Community, Community-Building, Event, News, Open Minds Respectful Voices, Program, Racial Equity, Respect, Run,
On Saturday, February 18, hundreds of people gathered in Greensboro and High Point to kick off a week of Maud 2.23 runs across North Carolina.
Organized by Together We Stand NC and with profits benefitting NCCJ, these runs were community events held to honor the memory of Ahmaud Arbery (who was murdered during an afternoon run on February 23, 2020) and to create spaces for more people to have courageous conversations about racial and social justice.
After the Greensboro run, we gathered at the Green Bean for a community conversation facilitated by NCCJ.
As the saying goes, it “takes a village” to build communities that are inclusive and welcoming for all of us (not just some of us).
NCCJ is grateful to everyone in our Triad community who showed up to run (or walk) and talk on Saturday.
Excerpted from coverage by Jackie Pascale at WXII Channel 12 News:
“We see it as an opportunity for our community to come together to act directly toward racial dignity and raise awareness against racism,” said Triad ambassador for Together We Stand NC, Mollie Caragol. “Greensboro is kind of known as a protest city since back in the 60s. This keeps that momentum going, keeps it progressing forward and keeps the message alive.”
Saturday’s run started at the International Civil Rights Center & Museum on Elm Street and ended at The Green Bean coffee shop, where participants took part in “Courageous Conversations,” in partnership with the group, North Carolina for Community and Justice.
In small groups, they were given prompts for conversations using everyday words that often evoke anxiety, misunderstanding and frustration. They were also given a framework to shape the conversation, using a LARA approach: Listen, Affirm, Respond, Ask Questions.
“Our work is about creating a community that is safe for all of us, not just some of us,” Michael Robinson said, program director for NCCJ. “We want folks to think, ‘How am I actually engaging? What are some of my tendencies when I’m engaging in conversation about difficult topics? How can we work in partnership with other people to build safe and welcoming communities?'”
The courageous conversation that NCCJ hosted at the Green Bean last Saturday was based on the monthly community programs we hold in support of our ongoing Open Minds, Respectful Voices initiative. Right now, those programs are still happening on Zoom each month. Click here to learn more about Open Minds, Respectful Voices and register for an upcoming program (they are free and open to all!)
You can also click here to view, download and print a handout about the LARA (Listen, Affirm, Respond Ask Questions) framework that NCCJ uses to guide our dialogues.
