July 15, 2020
Alabama Native Walks 1,000 Miles From Alabama To Minnesota For Social Justice
The ongoing protests over police brutality and racial injustice have inspired individuals to do their own acts of solidarity. Earlier this week, a 35-year old man named Terry Willis completed a 1,000-mile walk from his hometown of Hunstville, Alabama to the site where George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis back in May.
The entrepreneur and father felt a personal responsibility to his son and family to do something in light of the current events. Willis began his journey in early June and has chronicled his journey through social media, including his Facebook blog which has amassed over 39,000 followers.
Along his run, he made detours to other cities to pay respect to other victims of police brutality including Breonna Taylor in Louisville and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Willis has garnered fans both on social media and in real life who have shown support for his trek.
“It made me feel a plethora of mixed emotions: angry, frustrated, confused, sad,” he said on social media, according to NPR. “This could’ve been me, my family or friends. I knew I had to do something.”
In addition to the run, Willis is also raising money through GoFundMe to start his own nonprofit to work against police brutality. He has already raised over $40,000 toward his $50,000 goal.
“My organization will teach these individuals a trade that will subsequently allow them to open their own business and employ others,” he wrote on Facebook about his aspirations.