When the news came out about the shooting death of Mike Brown at the hands of police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Mo., many were outraged, heartbroken, and some people just didn’t know what to do. But for Londrelle Hall, 28, and Ray Mills, 29, all they wanted to do was run. The two decided they wanted to go to Ferguson and make a difference. They wanted to protest for and pay tribute to Mike Brown, but also run for black men in general, whose image in the media has been maligned. Mills told NBC News, “Statistically, it seems like in our community we [black men] are incarcerated or doing nothing. We want to go against the grain and not be another statistic, and we wanted to inspire other people to do the same.” Hall agreed, saying “We want to show that people who look like us can be doing something positive.”
Running in their “Run For Justice” hoodies, the men garnered quite a following on Instagram. Hall has 38,000 followers, and many of those supporters left positive, encouraging messages on their page and even text the men to keep their spirits up. After taking time out of their busy schedules and full-time jobs to train, the men ran and walked for 20 days, doing at least 35 miles a day, no matter the weather, taking their protest and awareness across counties, from state to state. They eventually found their way to Brown’s memorial in Ferguson, where they were met by supporters. Once they reached the spot as rain poured down on everyone, Hall broke down in tears, saying on Instagram, “My Soul Cried.”
It wasn’t easy at all, but Hall says that even though they’ve met their goal, they will continue to run for Brown and for all injustices going on.
“The purpose of this was never forget, but to keep raising awareness of what’s going on around us, so this is not the end. We will still run, not necessarily 540 miles, but we will still run.”
article by Victoria Uwumarogie via madamenoire.com
November 22, 2024