Houston Area Urban League, Inc. (Houton Area Urban League, Inc.)

EVENT: On July 11 at Memorial Park (or virtually for those who want to run independently), the Houston Gaels are hosting a combined 500KM Walk/Run to raise funds and awareness to support the Houston Black community via the Houston Area Urban League. The goal is to raise at least $2,000 and educate others on the changes that are needed to support the Black community.

BACKGROUND: As we are all aware, on May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a Black male, was detained by police officers for allegedly using a counterfeit $20.00 bill. While in handcuffs, one of the officers pinned Mr. Floyd to the ground and inexplicably placed a knee to the back of Mr. Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Despite Mr. Floyd pleading and repeatedly saying he couldn't breathe, the officer continued to apply pressure to the back of Mr. Floyd's neck. This continued even after Mr. Floyd lost consciousness and became unresponsive. As a result, Mr. Floyd died.

The Black community has been the victim of a system that has not provided its members the same rights and freedoms as others. Since before the founding of America, the Black community has been subjected to unspeakable injustices. And despite constitutional amendments, a civil war, a civil rights movement, the enactment of laws, and multiple Supreme Court rulings, Black men, women, and children are still not treated as equal members of our society.

On May 25, 2020, this inequality was yet again put on national display when Mr. Floyd was murdered by an individual tasked by our society to serve and protect. Without question, Mr. Floyd was not treated like he would have been had he been White. And while some may be quick to say one isolated incident is a far cry from a "systemic problem", the lives of Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, Philando Castile, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, Bettie Jones, Botham Jean, Michael Lorenzo Dean, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and the countless others are more than enough to prove otherwise.

The Houston Gaels Gaelic Athletic Club is an amateur sports club promoting Irish culture through sports, friendships, and community service. A bedrock principle of Irish culture, the GAA, and the Houston Gaels, is the diversity and equality of everyone.

According to our moral principles, and in light of the above events, we can no longer idly stand by while an entire portion of our community is subjected to fear, hatred, and unfair treatment every day. As such, the Houston Gaels will support the Black community in Houston by hosting a 500KM Run/Walk run on July 11, 2020 at Memorial Park. The goal of the event will be to raise at least $2,000 to donate directly to the Houston Area Urban League and raise awareness of the changes we as a society must make so that Black Lives Matter. While we recognize this one event will not make the changes we need to see occur, we hope it will be one of many steps in the march towards change.

FUNDRAISING: We ask that each participant or supporter raises at least $20. This can be a donation directly from the participant or others on the participants behalf. 

Please consider that if you raise donations through others, take the time to discuss why we are having this event and the problems we have to address in order to make a change. In other words, please educate yourself and spread the awareness of these issues.