Coffey on Running While Being Black In America, 'About The People' Film on Social Justice, Equity and Race
The CITIUS MAG Podcast | A Running + Track and Field Show
CITIUS MAG
4.9 • 1.9K Ratings
🗓️ 5 June 2020
⏱️ 131 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
"My grandfather told us from the jump, ‘Don’t ever let color separate you from anything. Don’t the color of green get you into any kind of trouble with another color but always accept another color besides your color and because we can all be a family together. Don’t worry about whoever it is that hates your color. You were born this color for a reason and wear it with pride.’ That’s what I’ve been doing since that day. I’m not afraid to speak my mind because I’m black. I just pay attention to my surroundings at all times at 110% level."
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Like many people throughout the country, I've been processing and thinking about all the current events happening since the murder of George Flloyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. It's absolutely heartbreaking. I wanted to share this podcast episode that Leigh Anne Sharek and I shared on the Runners of NYC Podcast last month. I promise you that there will be more from me. I know in my role and with the platform that I've built, we can amplify, support and elevate Black voices. You can't make any progress or change in silence. So while I could have not posted any podcast this week, I'm re-posting this conversation onto the podcast feed with the most subscribers in our network because it deserves to be heard widely.
Our guest for this episode is Coffey. He is a father, husband, filmmaker, Nike running pacer and the founder of Define New York Run Club. This conversation was on our schedule before the Ahmaud Arbery shooting but we take the first 30 minutes of our talk to address the story, its impact on him and how he relates to the likes of Ahmaud Arbery, Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin. We go back to his roots in North Carolina, how he got his start in fashion and filmmaking, why he got hooked on group running and then ultimately starting his own group.
You may have seen him on recent episodes of ‘For Life’ but his big project has been the short film “About the People” which hosts a very powerful and honest conversation about social justice and inequalities by black and brown men at the hands of police brutality. Coffey was one of the writers on the film and drew some inspiration from the conversations he’s had to have with his oldest son on police brutality.
Follow Coffey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ThatCoffeyBoy/
Follow Define New York Run Club: https://www.instagram.com/DefineNewYorkRunClub/
More on 'About The People': https://www.instagram.com/AboutThePeopleFilm/
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey everyone, this is Chris Chavez, and like many people throughout the country, I've |
| 0:07.6 | been processing and thinking about all the current events happening since the murder |
| 0:12.6 | of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. |
| 0:17.0 | It's absolutely heartbreaking. |
| 0:18.8 | A month ago, a Mont Arbery was shot and killed in Georgia, and that news sent some ripples |
| 0:23.6 | throughout the running community because he was out for a run when it happened. |
| 0:28.0 | Most close to him say that he was a runner and very much into fitness. |
| 0:32.0 | A lot of people celebrated what would have been his birthday by going out and running 2.23 |
| 0:38.0 | miles. |
| 0:39.0 | That happened. |
| 0:40.0 | And then, sadly, I'd say that most of the community moved on with their lives. |
| 0:43.9 | The case is ongoing. |
| 0:44.9 | There have been men who have been charged, but now, you know, pressure has to be put |
| 0:49.2 | on for a conviction and then you can hopefully, you know, pray for justice. |
| 0:55.1 | The death was a wake-up call to others though. |
| 0:58.4 | To me and, you know, to those who know me, you understand that my work, whether it's |
| 1:04.1 | writing, podcasting, is always good intentioned. |
| 1:07.7 | But when you step back and you see that there's a lack of diversity in the voices being shared, |
| 1:12.6 | that's a problem. |
| 1:13.6 | And you have to correct it. |
| 1:14.6 | You have to have more conversations. |
| 1:17.6 | And I was discussing this with someone and they said, you know, you kind of have to move |
... |
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