# @aliontherun1 on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/B_8FQ11lpcT
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/14492537-aliontherun1-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/legacy-do/9862e9749f92ddd05a5ce897c38381528c268048f0901cf6045d91b0fa873e8f.jpg
- **Posted:** 2020-05-08T19:34:30.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Ali Feller (@AliOnTheRun1) — https://gondola.cc/AliOnTheRun1

## Caption

I grew up in a tiny town in New Hampshire. Quaint, quiet, quintessential New England. And very, very white. Racism wasn't something we talked about growing up. Racial injustices didn't affect me. They still don't.

I have grown up privileged and white and still, at 35 years old, largely uncomfortable discussing topics like racism. As a white woman with a platform and an amazing community, I preach constantly about being open-minded, being empathetic, being an ally and a voice for marginalized groups.

And still, it makes me uncomfortable. I question: Who am I, a white woman who can go for a run without worrying about being killed simply because of the color of her skin, to raise my voice? What do I even know? What if I say the wrong thing? What if I offend someone by trying so hard to say the “right thing?” But as alisonmdesir wrote in outsidemagazine today, that discomfort I feel? It pales in comparison to the discomfort black women and men feel every day on the run and beyond. It’s an incredibly impactful, must-read piece.

So I call bullshit on myself. And I am sorry and regretful for not doing more sooner.

This is my voice. And if I can't use it to talk about how enraged I am and how enraged we all should be that an innocent, unarmed black man was shot dead by two white supremacists in Georgia, then what is my voice good for? Two white men walked free for nearly two months, despite video evidence that they shot and killed Ahmaud Arbery while he was out for a run. I commit to being an ally. To using my voice, and to LISTENING, learning, and not going silent when the social media hype fades into the next news cycle. I commit to speaking up, to trying to say the right thing, and to learning if and when I don’t.

Today, #IRUNWITHMAUD. I ran today because he died doing something he loved. Something I take for granted every day, because I have the privilege of feeling safe on the run. I ran because black rights are human rights. Because it's 2020, and damn, we still have a lot of work to do.

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## Tags

irunwithmaud

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