Off and Running

Martha Foye helps pull together the upcoming Black Man Running 5K

“Run with Us.”

It’s the plea at the end of a short film by Working Narratives to promote the upcoming Black Man Running 5K on March 11. It’s also at the center of the social justice message that inspired the run.

This year’s run, the second, sends a message of social justice, racial justice, and unity, according to its organizers, which include MARTHA FOYE.

It also calls attention to the additional challenges African-Americans can face when they go for a run or are simply in a public space. They may be questioned by police, or even the neighbors, if they’re running in a neighborhood, according to the film. That issue leads to less physical exercise, which contributes to health issues, the speakers contend.

The race was initiated by Rend Smith, who now lives in Wilmington but has resided in many parts of the country and has been published in Village Voice, The New York Times, and elsewhere, Foye says. The primary purpose is to “protest African-American men being profiled in society,” she says.

Everyone has a need for freedom of expression, Foye says. Running, and running in a public space such as Hugh MacRae Park, can be a part of fulfilling that need. The run is a forum for conversations about community, about freedom to move freely, about freedom of religion, and about freedom of expression, she says.

Part of the ongoing effort is a running group that meets every Thursday and includes a very diverse membership.

The run is more than just a run. It includes workshops, as well. A series of social justice workshops on the day of the run will include the business of social justice, the campaign for prison phone justice (which involves regulating the cost that can be charged for phone calls from inside prison), the use of poetry for protest, an examination of the media’s role in the stories that need to be told, and more.

Leading off the race day event is a New Orleans-style march/parade to the starting line. Foye says it will include drums, street performers, and puppeteers. A local puppeteer is helping students to build puppets for the parade.

Also situated at Hugh MacRae Park, the workshops will be set up circle style with the facilitator in the middle. There are currently seven formal submittals for workshops and more promised. There’ll also be a drumming workshop for those who wish to drum throughout the race.

For more event information, go to blackmanrunning.org.

For more about Foye’s background and role with Working Narratives, check out the Take 5 feature in the April issue of WILMA.

To view more of photographer Chris Brehmer's work, go to www.chrisbrehmerphotography.com