THIS IS AMERICA.

So today's blog post is about Ahmaud Arbery. On February, 23, 2020 Ahmaud Arbery decided to go for a jog. It was a perfectly normal day in Brunswick, Georgia. Ahmaud was merely jogging, when the father and son Gregory McMicheal, and Travis McMicheal began to follow him. They claim that they thought he was a “burglar”. Gregory had a .357 Magnum and Travis (his son) grabbed a shotgun. They began to follow him while he was on his jog. Again, only jogging.

Later in custody, Gregory McMicheal had told the police that he believed that he was a neighborhood burglar. Previously someone who resembled Ahmaud had been seen on surveillance video and by one of the McMicheals in a nearby construction site, which is why the duo began to think that he was a burglar. It was later confirmed that nothing was reported missing or stolen from the site. The truck that the father and son were in attempted to block him in as Arbery was jogging down the street. A friend of the McMicheals, who has since been charged as an accomplice, was filming everything on his phone. As Ahmaud Arbery attempted to jog around the truck that was blocking his way, he got into a struggle with Trevor McMicheal who was holding a shotgun. The father (Gregory McMicheal) seeing this, opened fire, delivering the fatal shots. To remind you, this event happened on February, 23, 2020.

It was not until May 7, 2020 that they arrested Gregory and Travis McMicheal. They were charged with murder and aggravated assault. Amhaud Arbery was an innocent man who was murdered because this father and son believed he was a threat from of the color of his skin. He didn't deserve to die. It was not until 69 days later that they were arrested. 69 days that those murders walked around freely. It was not until a video of the shooting went viral and was shared all throughout social media. There are protests all across the country because this keeps happening.

​ George Floyd was among many other victims of police brutality. George was held down on the concrete with the officers knee on his neck. Floyd continued to try and say “I can’t breathe”. This officer did not care. He continued to keep George in this hold until he died. These types of events happen every day. This is not okay. There needs to be a change, and it needs to happen now.