A record number of Evanston runners marked Father’s Day this year with the Ricky Byrdsong Memorial Race Against Hate, honoring the late Northwestern men’s basketball coach who was killed during a hate crime spree in 1999.
Nearly 5,000 people representing about 15 states participated Sunday morning in the 14th annual event, said Trimmy Stamell, events and grants manager at the YWCA Evanston/North Shore, which has organized the race since 2006. This year’s turnout topped 2012’s crowd by more than 600 people.
Stamell attributed the growing attendance to a new wave of athletes learning about what happened to Byrdsong, the first African American to lead NU’s men’s basketball program. On July 3, 2009, Byrdsong was shot to death by a white supremacist while walking with his kids near his Skokie home.
“It’s important we do everything possible to prevent violence, eliminate unwanted hatred … and fear of difference in our communities,” Stamell said.
The event included 5K and 10K runs, a 5K walk and a mile-long course for the youngest participants. The 10K route started at Long Field and weaved south through downtown Evanston and the lakefront before heading back toward North Campus via the Lakefill.
This year’s courses were tweaked due to several NU construction projects that will likely affect the Race Against Hate for the next few years, Stamell said. The school is one of the event’s top sponsors.
“We will remain flexible as Northwestern continues to do what it does,” Stamell said.
Sunday’s Race Against Hate capped off an academic year that saw a renewed focus on Byrdsong’s legacy. In March, Associated Student Government senators unanimously passed a resolution calling for the University to create a “permanent site in memory of” the former coach. The legislation was pushed by multicultural student leaders who said their peers were unfamiliar with Byrdsong’s story.
Stamell said the race serves as an annual reminder of Byrdsong’s death and the hateful actions that led to it.
“It was shocking to them then, and it is important enough to them they want their children and the next generation to remember, too,” Stamell said.
— Patrick Svitek
