There will be an empty seat at the family's celebrations. It's a reminder of the fact that, while she believes justice was done when three white men were convicted Wednesday of cornering and shooting her son as he ran through a Georgia coastal neighborhood, her son is no more.
"This is our second Thanksgiving without Ahmaud. Yet, I am thankful. This Thanksgiving is the first time we're saying that Ahmaud was treated fairly," Arbery’s mother Wanda Cooper-Jones told The Associated Press Thursday in an interview.
Three white men were convicted Wednesday of murder after they chased down and killed Arbery in Brunswick. After finding that Arbery had been captured on a surveillance camera at the nearby house, they wanted to interview him about recent burglaries.
Arbery ran around the neighborhood and in other areas close to his home, trying to clear his mind. Arbery ran for five minutes with nothing in his hands, before one of the men shot at him three times from close range with a shotgun. They will be sentenced later and face life imprisonment. A federal hate crime trial is set for February.
Cooper-Jones stated that after Wednesday's verdicts were read, she thought about her son's suppoerters at the Glynn county courthouse every day who shouted: "Justice for Ahmaud!"
Cooper-Jones stated, "I finally got the chance to come out those courtroom doors, and say, We did it, together."
As Cooper-Jones listened to the judge read out the guilty 23 times, she was seated beside her mother, Ronald Greene. He was a Louisiana man who was choked and beaten by state troopers following a high speed chase. Troopers claimed Greene was injured in a car crash. However, doctors said that this didn't seem to be true. The federal civil rights investigation into Greene’s death is ongoing.
Within days of her son's death, Cooper-Jones received a call from his mother. Cooper-Jones received a call from Trayvon Martin's mother. Martin was an unarmed Black teenager who was shot and killed by a man who successfully claimed self defense after confronting Martin while he was walking in his gated community. Martin was visiting family.
She also spoke to Breonna TAYLOR's mother. Louisville, Kentucky police killed Taylor while Taylor was serving a warrant in a drug operation. Taylor's boyfriend opened fire on the group. Her death was not caused by the officers.
Mothers who lost their children to racial violence and/or police shootings reached out to other mothers. Cooper-Jones refers to them as a sorority.
We all come together. She said, "We share our experiences and we grow together."
Cooper-Jones was away for six weeks since Oct. 18, when jury selection began. After her son's death, she moved out of Brunswick.
She plans to spend quiet Thanksgiving at home. They will be making Arbery's favorite, pork chops and butter bean, but she is not sure. She said that her son loves them for Sunday dinner.
"Today will be a day for rest." Cooper-Jones stated that she has been in the courtroom since October 18. "I am gathering my immediate family. We will have a small meal. We will be grateful. We will give God our praises."
The blessing of justice is also appreciated by other relatives.
"We are grateful for Ahmaud’s life. We are grateful for the unconditional love he showed us over the many years that we shared with him. We are grateful for the fight for justice that we continued to fight for. "We are grateful that we can now start healing," Arbery’s aunt Thea Brooks said to the AP.
Cooper-Jones is thankful that her son's murderers are being tired and that Georgia will be safer.
Georgia was the 47th state to adopt a hate crime law after Arbery's passing. The legislature also repealed the citizen’s arrest law defense lawyers tried to use as a justification for chasing Arbery, prohibiting officers from detaining anyone outside of shoplifting.
"When they hear my name. Cooper-Jones stated that they will respond by saying, "This young man lost his life, but he brought change."
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Jeffrey Collins reported from Columbia in South Carolina. This report was contributed by Russ Bynum and Alex Sanz, both Atlanta, Georgia Associated Press reporters.
