Running while Black

Running while Black is a sardonic description of racial profiling experienced by Black runners in the United States^[1] and Canada.^[2] In the United States, jogging gained popularity after World War II, and has largely been portrayed by American media as an activity typically engaged in by White people; joggers of color are treated with suspicion.^[3] Black runners report taking precautions such as wearing bright colors to appear non-threatening, avoiding running outside of daylight hours, running in groups for safety, and avoiding running fast enough to appear to be "running away from something."^[4]

In 2021, Lyndsey Hornbuckle found that the issue was particularly common when Black people were running in White neighborhoods, and especially higher socioeconomic White neighborhoods.^[5]

Sonia Sanchez's 1968 play The Bronx is Next includes a scene in which a White police officer arrests a Black person for running while Black.^[6] The 2001 US Supreme Court case Illinois v. Wardlow, which upheld the legality of a police search of a person based on the person running from police, has been described by civil libertarians as creating a new criminal offense of "running while black."^[7][8] Examples of racial incidents due to "running while Black" also include the 2015 death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore,^[9][10][11] the 2015 arrest of Jimmy Thoronka in London,^[12] a 2019 incident in Vancouver, Canada,^[13] and the 2020 murder of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, U.S.^{[14][15][16][17]}

See also

• Driving while black
• Shopping while black
• The talk (racism in the US)

References

1. Streeter, Kurt (18 May 2020). "Running While Black: Our Readers Respond". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
2. "Sprinter Sam Effah on running while Black". Canadian Running Magazine. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
3. Demby, Gene; Michael, Nick (18 July 2020). "VIDEO: How Running's White Origins Led To The Dangers Of 'Running While Black'". NPR. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
4. Karimi, Faith (27 February 2021). "For Black runners, every stride comes with a fear they can't outrun". CNN. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
5. Hornbuckle, Lyndsey (1 June 2021). "Running while Black: A distinctive safety concern and barrier to exercise in White neighborhoods". Preventive Medicine Reports. 22: 101378. doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2021.101378. ISSN 2211-3355. PMC 8105660. PMID 33996391.
6. La Donna Forsgren (2018). "Chapter 3. 'Armed Prophet': Sonia Sanchez and the Weapon of Words." In Search of Our Warrior Mothers: Women Dramatists of the Black Arts Movement. Northwestern University Press. ISBN 9780810136953.
7. Vaughans, Kirkland C.; Spielberg, Warren (30 June 2014). The Psychology of Black Boys and Adolescents [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 342. ISBN 978-0-313-38199-7.
8. Engel, Robin S. (15 March 2010). Race, Ethnicity, and Policing: New and Essential Readings. NYU Press. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-8147-7616-2.
9. Stolberg, Sheryl Gay; Nixon, Ron (22 April 2015). "Freddie Gray in Baltimore: Another City, Another Death in the Public Eye". The New York Times.
10. "Justice Dept. Opens Baltimore police probe; 1K protest". Associated Press. 22 April 2015.
11. Alexander, Keith L. (25 July 2015). "Representing Freddie Gray's family: A venerable lawyer in cases involving race, police and death". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
12. "From top sprinter to homeless in London – what happened next to Jimmy Thoronka?". The Guardian. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
13. "Running while black: Vancouver police say no racial profiling in stopping man rushing to SkyTrain station". 11 June 2019.
14. Futterman, Matthew; Minsberg, Talya (8 May 2020). "After a Killing, 'Running While Black' Stirs Even More Anxiety". The New York Times.
15. "Running While Black: Ahmaud Arbery's Death Highlights Shared Fears Of Racial Profiling". www.wbur.org. 11 May 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
16. Beauchamp, Zack (8 May 2020). "Ahmaud Arbery and the dangers of running while black". Vox. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
17. "'Why is this black guy running?': After Ahmaud Arbery's killing, African Americans reconsider fitness routines". NBC News. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.

Further reading

• Dragan Milovanovic, Katheryn Russell-Brown (2001). Petit Apartheid in the U.S. Criminal Justice System. Carolina Academic Press. ISBN 9780890899519.
• Ray, Rashawn (1 August 2017). "Black people don't exercise in my neighborhood: Perceived racial composition and leisure-time physical activity among middle class blacks and whites". Social Science Research. 66: 42–57. doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2017.03.008. ISSN 0049-089X. PMID 28705363.
• Johnson, Demarquin (2018). "Running While Black". Harvard Journal of African American Public Policy: 7–10. ProQuest 2187897381.