MACON, Ga. — This Independence Day, some Central Georgians will spend their holiday taking a walk through Macon's past for a better future.
The Freedom for All 4K will take participants through some of Macon's racial history, starting and ending at Rosa Parks Square.
Walkers will go past the Douglass Theatre and hear about the 1922 lynching of John "Cocky" Glover.
The walk will be 2.23 miles in honor of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man who was shot while on a run in Brunswick, GA.
Organizer Nancy Cleveland wants to acknowledge darker parts of Macon's history in order to influence the community to move forward together.
"I think that if we remember the tragedies and the complicated history that we have here in Macon, Georgia and Bibb county, it will make us feel more obligated to make a change," says Cleveland.
While Central Georgia protests and marches have focused on tragedies in other communities, Cleveland wants the walk relate those issues directly to Macon.
"It's important for us to know these stories and remember things like this so we don't think the tragedies are happening everywhere but here," says Cleveland. "In knowing that history we can come up with better solutions on how to move forward collectively."
The walk will also honor the lives of over 30 people who have lost their lives to gun violence in 2020.
The walk run will be socially distanced and hand sanitizer and masks will be provided at the event.
The Freedom for All 4K is free to all. To register, support, or donate, visit the event's website.
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