“The best thing for us to do is to continue to have tough conversations about race with empathy, patience, and mutual respect.”
I grew up in a multicultural running family, as my dad is Mexican-American, and my mom is white. When I was growing up, my dad would tell me stories about dealing with racism and racial profiling while running collegiately at Harvard University in the early 1970s, which he likely would have dealt with at any U.S. college at the time.
Even pre-COVID-19, I’ve also had similar interactions with residents in the neighborhood, whether it’s people not waving back or making eye contact, or very obviously moving across the street when they see me coming, even though I make it a point to wave, smile, and wear brightly colored shirts so that people are very much aware that I’m a runner. I also see hardly anyone who looks like me and don’t see much diversity at all when I line up at large and small races in the Austin area.
I think the moment that we have now is an opportunity to have more people, especially our white allies and co-conspirators, as I like to call them, be more active in questioning how to make our country more equitable. It’s an opportunity to look at who the decision-makers are on the boards of larger organizations like the New York Road Runners and the Atlanta Track Club that really have the power to make changes.
I currently live in Boston, Massachusetts, which people assume is progressive and diverse because, yes, it’s true that Boston is one of the most diverse cities in America. But it’s also one of the most segregated, and the running community is no exception. I’ve noticed that others often don’t greet me or make eye contact when I’m out on a solo run, or even when I’m walking around a race expo, but they’ll do so without fail if I’m running with a group of white friends.
Ahmaud Arbery’s shooting made me feel very sad, but the video that surfaced a few weeks later made me feel deeply emotional. When I saw that footage, it was just heart-wrenching to see him approached by two men with guns who were not police. To see how he ultimately died was extremely heart-wrenching. By all accounts, he was jogging in his neighborhood—I don’t have any experiences of racism while running that are close to Arbery’s, but I’m lucky to still be alive.
It’s very common to see Native runners in New Mexico. Our state is home to 23 federally recognized tribal nations and is host to an active indigenous running community. Even so, I’m aware that across the U.S., the road and trail racing community is predominantly white. When traveling to races in other parts of the country, I don’t always see others who look like me or feel it’s a space welcoming to Native peoples.
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