Town honors Ahmaud Arbery day after end of hate crimes case

Wanda Cooper-Jones (on right in yellow dress) poses for photos with supporters beneath a new street sign honoring her son, Ahmaud Arbery, that was unveiled Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022, in Brunswick, Ga. City officials approved the honor for Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was fatally shot in February 2020 after being chased by three white men in pickup trucks who spotted him running in their neighborhood. All three men were later convicted of murder and federal hate crimes. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)

A crowd of dozens chanted on a sweltering street corner Tuesday as Ahmaud Arbery’s hometown unveiled new street signs honoring the young Black man who was fatally shot after being chased by three white men in a nearby neighborhood — a crime local officials vowed to never forget.

Arbery’s parents joined the celebration the day after the men responsible for their son’s death received harsh prison sentences in U.S. District Court for committing federal hate crimes.

Officials in coastal Brunswick, where Arbery grew up, have ordered that intersections along all 2.7 miles (4.35 kilometers) of Albany Street that runs through the heart of the city’s Black community will have additional signs designating it as Honorary Ahmaud Arbery Street.