Finding my family's history in Brunswick, Georgia, where Ahmaud Arbery was murdered

BRUNSWICK, Ga. – I remember frolicking in the Atlantic Ocean off Jekyll Island, the endless waves lapping around me. The hot sun reflected off the water as my maroon one-piece bathing suit, too big for me, kept creeping down and exposing my chest. I wore my glasses because I wanted to be able to spot various shells in the shallow shoreline and scoop them up.

It was the first beach experience I can recall. The year was 1980.

I returned to Jekyll Island last month – 41 years later – as part of a reporting trip related to the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. He was killed a short drive from the island, in a neighborhood called Satilla Shores. I wanted to see where Arbery died and to talk to his family and members of the community about the impact of this tragic death on the small coastal town where I have deep familial connections.