The cool morning was a gentle start June 15 to a blue-sky Father’s Day at Floyd Long Field on Evanston Sheridan Road.
Sherialyn Byrdsong, of Atlanta, Ga., felt at home Sunday on the Northwestern University campus where her husband mentored young athletes.
The Ricky Byrdsong Memorial Race Against Hate was created in memory of Sherialyn’s husband. The annual event attracted an estimated 5,500 participants, although neighbors came out too, increasing attendance numbers.
“It’s a day that we remember a truly great father who was in our lives,” Sherialyn said.
She spent much of the morning greeting well-wishers who wanted her to have a positive Father’s Day experience.
Ricky Byrdsong, then of Skokie, was shot in 1999 while walking with two of their children. Gunfire was sprayed in their direction, and a bullet struck Ricky in the back. He died four hours later.
On the same day, the shooter also wounded nine Orthodox Jews and killed a Korean graduate student.
Ricky Byrdsong left a legacy as a popular Northwestern University basketball coach. He had also served as vice present of affairs for Aon Corporation. The crime, spurring immediate outrage, created the Race Against Hate, now in its 15th year.
Sherialyn and her children Sabrina, 27, Kelley, 25, and Ricky Jr., 23, have built Father’s Day memories with a message that hate crimes cannot be tolerated.
“Our family made a purposeful effort to turn that tragedy into a victory,” said Sherialyn, who believes 15 years have made a difference. “People are a lot more aware of what they need to do to really combat the different faces of evil that come into our lives every day.
“I think that people are a lot more intentional about standing together, coming together for an event like this to make a statement and to be a living demonstration that we are supposed to respect all human life.”
Started in 2000, and entrusted to the stewardship of the YWCA in 2007, the race benefits the work of the YWCA Evanston/North Shore, notably in violence prevention and racial equity.
The YWCA Evanston/North Shore is dedicated to eliminating racism and empowering women.
“It was a senseless shooting just motivated by hate and racism,” said Karen Singer, president and CEO of the YWCA Evanston/North Shore. “He was a man who worked towards good in his communities. It was senseless, and we will not tolerate it again.”
The chip-timed event welcomed participants of all ages. The 10K race was the first race. Jordan Horwitz, a 2004 Evanston Township High School graduate, came in first place in the 10K with a time of 33:13.
The 5K race, which was up next, drew more participants. People jogged, pushed baby strollers or walked with mobility aids in the name of exercise and making their statement.