(BRUNSWICK, Ga.) — The coastal city of Brunswick, Georgia, where Ahmaud Arbery was killed, is honoring the slain 25-year-old with a street sign.
“The hardest part is knowing he is no longer with me,” Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, said at Tuesday’s unveiling.
“But I look at the change that Ahmaud has brought since his passing,” she said, citing Georgia’s new hate crime law and the repeal of the state’s 1863 citizen’s arrest law.
“I want to say thank you to the city of Brunswick for honoring my family, honoring Ahmaud,” she went on. “Because my only prayer is you guys will not forget his name.”
The crowd cheered as Honorary Ahmaud Arbery Street was uncovered and people chanted “Say his name! Ahmaud Arbery!”
Thank you to everyone who came out to the very special and historic unveiling of the Honorary Ahmaud Arbery Street Sign today. The City of Brunswick is proud to honor Ahmaud Arbery and his family with this street sign in his name. pic.twitter.com/uiEjQhlOUP
— City of Brunswick,GA (@citybwkga) August 9, 2022
The ceremony took place one day after the three white men convicted of federal hate crimes in connection to Arbery’s death received their sentences.
Gregory McMichael, 66, who chased Arbery, and his son, Travis McMichael, 36, who fired the fatal shot two years ago, were sentenced Monday to life in prison. The McMichaels’ neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, who joined the chase and recorded video, was sentenced to 35 years.
Arbery was killed in Brunswick on Feb. 23, 2020. When the McMichaels saw Arbery jogging in their neighborhood, they chased him, falsely believing the Black man had been responsible for several break-ins. Bryan joined the chase in his own truck, blocking Arbery from escaping, and recorded video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery after a brief struggle.
Prosecutors released text messages and social media posts in which Travis McMichael and Bryan repeatedly used racist slurs. Witnesses also testified to hearing Greg and Travis McMichaels make racist comments.
Bryan and the McMichaels were already serving life in prison after being found guilty of state murder charges last fall. The McMichaels were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole while Bryan was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.
ABC News’ Kiara Alfonseca contributed to this report.
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