BRUNSWICK, Ga. – The Transformative Justice Coalition held a march from Glynn County courthouse through downtown Brunswick Thursday. Dozens of people marched and chanted through the streets.
This march happened one day after one Black man, three white men and 12 white women were chosen for the jury in the case of Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan. The three men are on trial, charged with chasing, shooting and killing 25-year-old Arbery in the Satilla Shores neighborhood Feb. 23, 2020.
The organizers as well as Diane Jackson, Ahmaud Arbery’s aunt, told News4Jax they are not happy with a jury that’s set to be at least 90 percent white in the case - but they are hopeful and they want to keep this case front and center.
“To see so many people coming out and supporting my family, it’s a blessing,” said Jackson.
Race is a central issue in the case involving the death of Arbery. Greg McMichael and his adult son, Travis, both white, armed themselves and while in a pickup truck, pursued Arbery, a Black man. A neighbor, “Roddie” Bryan, a white man, joined the chase in his own truck and took cellphone video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery three times with a shotgun.
“This will be a test, how far have we now come as a nation,” said Daryl Jones of the Transformative Justice Coalition. “That’s what we’re getting ready to find out.”