Ahmaud Arbery’s life was at a crossroads on February 23, when he laced up his running shoes for his daily run.

Ahmaud probably wasn’t thinking about his past that Sunday afternoon. He had plans for the future. His mother said he intended to go back to South Georgia Technical College and complete his training to become an electrician, like his uncles.

His future stretched out before him, like the familiar roads he jogged along every day, but Ahmaud probably wasn’t thinking about the future. He was likely just thinking about his run and where it would take him that day. It would take him across US Route 17. The four-lane highway that travelers took to the resorts on Jekyll Island also served as a boundary between black and white in the area.

Ahmaud’s route that day took him across the highway and into the predominantly white neighborhood of Satilla Shores