Dear Ahmaud Arbery…

This past week has been relatively hard in comparison to the others while being inside my home, social distancing from the public. I usually find fun activities to indulge in or challenges to entertain myself with, but a very somber week it has been indeed. On February 23rd, 2020 Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black male was wrongfully shot multiple times and killed during a routine jog around the neighborhood of Brunswick, Georgia. To him, I dedicate this post and write this letter hoping my emotions and feelings about his death are felt by those close to him . To that end, I say: 

“Dear Ahmaud, 

My name is Sigourney and I wanted to pen a letter to you- and while it is VERY hard for me to write this without shedding a tear or taking a break, here I am. This past week has been difficult, wrestling with my emotions and feelings over brutal killings in America that have explicit racial undertones; it stings not only because another life was taken but also because I identify as a young woman of color and I am scared. I’ve never told anyone that before….. 

When I first heard the news, I couldn’t believe it. During a pandemic, there is still an unrest of killings more specifically, ones that are proven to be covered in racial undertones and racial prejudice. ‘Come on- not again’, is what I thought to myself right before I entered a comatose state for about an hour.

At the age of 11, I knew what I wanted to be and while I couldn’t actualize my dreams just yet at that time, I knew it would happen eventually because I was given life each day to chase my endeavors and follow my heart. Each day brought with it life opportunities to seize the day! But then I think of you, and you no longer here to enjoy the pleasures of life or your dreams. 

I know you had dreams, aspirations and hopes for your life. I know you enjoyed exercising and sports. And I also know that you’re a pretty charitable person, willing to give in times when there’s not much to offer. Despite me knowing all these facts about you because your father poured out his love for you on a CNN show this past week, I stand with you. 

It’s definitely going to take an insurmountable amount of time to grieve and reflect on how your life would have been. You mean so much to me and yet, I’ve never met you in person before. 

As my brother’s keeper, I promise to always uplift your spirit and fight for justice in your name and for all those lives that were tragically taken before yours. And lastly, I will forge into tomorrow’s events giving it my best each and every day because tomorrow is not always promised. 

Rest in Peace, Power and Paradise my dear friend. 

Sincerely with deepest affections, 

Sigourney”