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VIDEO: How Running's White Origins Led To The Dangers Of 'Running While Black'

Since two white men killed Ahmaud Arbery while he was out for a jog, there has been a lot more conversation about "running while black." What's strange is that — for a few years, in fact — there has actually been increasing discussion within the running community about runners' safety. The catch? It's focused primarily on (white) women. So why, until recently, has it been easier to talk about runners' safety for white women than for runners of color? The answer involves World War II, the founder of Nike, yuppies and the Central Park Five case.

In this video episode of Code Switch, we interview runner and activist Alison Désir and historian and author Natalia Mehlman Petrzela.

You can listen to the Code Switch podcast on NPR One, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts and RSS.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Gene Demby is the co-host and correspondent for NPR's Code Switch team.
Nick Michael is the Acting Supervising Editor for Video at NPR. He joined NPR in 2014 as the lead video producer for Jazz Night in America, NPR's first program with companion radio and video content. Jazz Night's 2017 portfolio earned a Peabody nomination and a Webby Award for Online Film & Video. Since then, he has co-managed the growth of NPR's award-winning video team, highlights of which include co-crafting the look of NPR's signature interviews with President Obama, leading NPR's experimentation with 360 video and audio and coordinating 22 filmmakers across the country to document 2017's solar eclipse. Before NPR, Michael co-founded 1504, a creative video studio now based in Birmingham, Ala. He earned a masters in photojournalism at the Missouri School of Journalism.