Brunswick street dedicated to Ahmaud Arbery day after federal hate crime sentencing

A crowd of about 100 people stood at the intersection of Albany and G streets in Brunswick on Tuesday to dedicate a portion of the street to Ahmaud Arbery and his legacy.

Arbery's parents, Wanda Cooper-Jones and Marcus Arbery, were joined by loved ones, attorney Lee Merritt and other supporters as they unveiled Honorary Ahmaud Arbery Street along a stretch of road that was once home to Black-owned businesses in Brunswick.

In December last year, the Brunswick City Commission passed legislation to dedicate the street to Arbery. The naming follows a series of honors that commemorate Arbery's legacy, including renaming a Brunswick park and Georgia state legislators declaring Feb. 23 as Ahmaud Arbery Day.

Read: Ahmaud Arbery was killed at 25. A year later, Black men who see themselves in him mourn his loss

The event culminated the more than two-year legal process to get justice for the 25-year-old Black man who was chased, cornered and gunned down as he jogged through the Satilla Shores neighborhood.

"We ask that you continue to lift this family up because this is not the end of the journey," Brunswick Mayor Pro Tem Felicia Harris said in a prayer at the start of the dedication. "They still have to contend with where they go from here."

Tuesday’s dedication came a day after a federal judge in South Georgia sentenced three men — Travis McMichael, 36, Gregory McMichael, 66, and William “Roddie” Bryan, 52 — for violating Arbery’s civil rights.

Sentencing: Georgia dad, son sentenced to life for hate crimes in Ahmaud Arbery death; 3rd defendant gets 35 years

Travis McMichael, who fatally shot Arbery, will serve his federal sentence of life plus 10 years. His father, Gregory, who initiated the deadly pursuit of the jogger, will serve life in plus seven years. Their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan, who took a video of the killing, was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

They will serve the federal sentences concurrently with their state time. The judge denied each man's request Monday to serve his sentences in federal prison.

But there are other legal hurdles to battle, including setting a trial date for former Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson, who was indicted on a felony charge of violation of oath and a misdemeanor charge of obstruction and hindering a law enforcement officer in September 2021.

The family would also like to see consequences for Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney George Barnhill of Ware County, who Johnson had asked to assume responsibility for the state murder case. Barnhill had ruled the McMichaels and Bryan acted in self-defense.

"Our understanding is once the McMichaels' trial was complete, that the attorney general could then begin to prosecute Gregory McMichael about his relationship to George Barnhill and then we expect criminal charges to go forward again," attorney Lee Merritt told the Savannah Morning News.

Merritt, who represents Arbery’s mother Wanda Cooper-Jones, said Glynn County still has unfinished business and bears responsibility for what happened to Arbery. "I will not, and the family will not let me, let Glynn County off the hook, and neither should you," Merritt said, addressing the crowd.

Ahmaud Arbery Day: For Ahmaud Arbery Day, family and residents offer prayers, balloons and calls for change

Merritt told a Savannah Morning News reporter that next steps would be focusing on the civil trial filed against Johnson, Barnhill, the McMichaels, Bryan and officers associated with the Glynn County police department. The civil trial is currently going through the discovery process, he said. Merritt said Jones’ focus is now on the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation and ensuring her son’s legacy lives on.

“My only prayer is that you all won’t forget his name,” Jones said fighting through tears. “Please promise me you will always say his name.”

Raisa is a watchdog and investigative reporter for the Savannah Morning News. Contact her at rhabersham@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Ahmaud Arbery: Brunswick street dedicated to honor slain jogger