The mother of Ahmaud Arbery says she still experiences waves of grief over the loss of her son, but there are more good days than bad.
Wanda Cooper Jones is turning the murder of her son into a mission to help people suffering from mental illness through The Ahmaud Arbery Foundation, which she says uplifts young Black men and boys, and promotes mental health and overall wellness.
The foundation will become a resource for mental health services, Cooper Jones said.
Ahmaud suffered from the mental illness, shizoaffective disorder, and became an avid runner as way of self-healing and gaining peace of mind, Cooper Jones said.
He was 25 years old and out running February 23, 2020 when he was shot and killed after being chased through a subdivision just outside Brunswick. Travis McMichael, his father Greg McMichael, and neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan were convicted in his death in state and federal trials.
Cooper Jones contacted and partnered with shoe company Adidas in 2020 to establish a 2.23 mile run in tribute to Ahmaud’s birthday May 8.
“I just wanted help and support to do a birthday bash for Ahmaud that year,” she said.
The 2.23-miler has become a national “Run With Maud’ movement of the foundation, which was established in 2021, Cooper Jones said.
She was celebrated by Adidas during its Honoring Black Excellence event Saturday at The Gathering Spot.
“It’s been a long journey but I still have a ways to go,” Cooper Jones told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I’m just so grateful to Adidas. More people than I ever imagined really supported me getting justice for Ahmaud.
“And that makes me feel more confident that I wasn’t standing in the fight alone.”
Credit: Credit Adrianne Murchison
Credit: Credit Adrianne Murchison
A portion of Cooper Jones’s work includes her own fundraising for six college scholarships in the amount of $3,000 each to students at Ahmaud’s alma mater, Brunswick High School, she said.
Locally, 10 students from Clarkston High School will run in the AJC Peachtree Road Race Tuesday, in Arbery’s honor, Cooper Jones said.
“We have been standing with Wanda since she called in 2020,” said Ayesha Martin, director Global Purpose at Adidas, “It was really about the spirit of community. What was really important was to support her through (what she was going through) and the launch of the foundation.”
During Saturday’s program, Bria Janelle, an emcee of professional sports events, facilitated a conversation with Cooper Jones; Kelli Stewart of LEAD Center for Youth, a mentoring organization founded with husband and former Major League Baseball player C.J. Stewart; and Desmond Stegall, a LEAD mentor and head baseball coach at Maynard Jackson High School.
The community leaders stressed the importance of educating and empowering youth to be active in civic engagement and politics that could affect their lives.
Cooper Jones said its important for the public to always remember the wrongful deaths of “the Breonna Taylors and George Floyds.”
“People forget,” she said. “Everything is back to normal but we still need to remember that I lost Ahmaud to something that was tragic.”
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