This is a sidebar to our series Death’s Disparities, a series about the growing gap in life expectancy between rich and poor New York.
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Lifelong friends Sheila Gordon and Dionne Grayman don’t remember exactly when they came up with the idea for a women’s running group, We Run Brownsville–but they are sure of one thing: The group isn’t just about getting women in shape, it’s also a call to action. Gordon, who works for the New York Road Runners Club, and Grayman, who works to reduce school suspensions through restorative justice programs in public schools, believe that the best way to make change is to put the power in the hands of the people who need it the most.
What Kills New Yorkers
Mapping the leading causes of death
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“The name was intentional,” says Gordon. “This would be a running program, but [also] an advocacy program.” The long-term goal, she says, “is to have the women take on something in the community from the inside out that could affect change.”
While the idea of a running club as a vehicle for change may seem slightly far-fetched for some, Gordon and Grayman are nothing if not determined.
This past summer, starting with a grant from the nonprofit Brownsville Partnership and Brooklyn Community Foundation, the two women bought sneakers, water bottles, granola bars and jump ropes and solicited the help of a friend and elite runner to train a starting cohort of 22 women. For eight weeks, the women trained as a group twice a week on the track at Betsy Head Park in Brownsville, and each runner was to complete one additional day of training on their own during the weekend. The goal was to run a 5 K in East New York.
Their efforts were so successful that a second cohort started in the fall to train for a four-mile holiday race in Prospect Park. On Saturday, December 3, 15 women did the four-mile Jingle Bell Jog and Reindeer Run. It was no small accomplishment, says Grayman.
“We have women running who are obese. We have women running who suffer from depression. We have women running who have high blood pressure.” What unites all the women, says Grayman, is their desire for change. “There is an external narrative about Brownsville, that it is violent, that is it home to negative health outcomes, that it is the unsafest neighborhood in the city.” While elements of that narrative are true, it’s not the whole truth, she says: “We run the track to say the park is active and the track is in use and that although there are these negative health conditions that exist in Brownsville, there are people seeking to be healthy.”
Adds Gordon, “Collectively, they (the runners) are seeing their own lives transform. [An] example of that and how we know that is happening: One of the moms had her children there (on a group run day) and the kids wanted a soda. And she said, ‘If I can’t have soda, you guys have to stop having soda.’ As part of the running group, she can’t have soda. If we take those small steps like that, where we see a mom passing something down that will make her children healthy, this is worth doing.”
Read More: How Does Life Expectancy Compare Across NYC Neighborhoods?
18 thoughts on “Running for Change in Brownsville”
This is truly inspiring. Thank you for sharing
Hi Michelle,
Thank you for your words of support.
Run with us!
How do we join the group
Hi Sandie,
Thank you for you interest. Please email us at WeRunBrownsville@gmail.com for information on our upcoming cohort.
Run with us!!
THIS is the Change we need and want to see! Congratulations to the Women of We Run Brownsville! I am super proud of you. Thank you for literally running the race for change and transformation. The best is yet to come! ❤
We Run Brownsville ESPECIALLY thanks La’Shawn Allen-Muhammad and the Central Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation for her tremendous support and valuable partnership. When women make it their mission the support of other women, they have committed to lifting women to the light.
We deeply appreciate La’Shawn for always lifting us to the light.
When do they meet? How can I join?
Hi Kay,
Thank you for your interest. Please email us at WeRunBrownsville@gmail.com for information on our upcoming Winter 2017 cohort.
Run with us!!
When do they meet & can I join? I can provide my own supplies.
I love this, would like to join you ladies ❤️??
Hi Wanda,
Thank you for your love and sisterhood-ness. Please send us an email with your contact ino and we’ll be in touch shortly. We’d love to have you join our Winter 2017 cohort.
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These women and this article counters the all too often promoted narrative that the families in undeserved neighborhoods are not interested or focused on better living. Excellent work and article! We need to read more of these stories!!
Hi Felicia,
We appreciate your speaking truth to power, your celebration and support.
We are all needed for what we bring and we have everything we need to be the change we need.
Run With Us!!
Great job ladies. How do someone go about joining the group.
Hey Candice,
Thank you for your interest! We are gearing up for our Winter 2017 Cohort and would love for you to join us. Please send us and email with your contact info and we’ll be in touch shortly.
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I WAS OUT IN THE PARK WALKING WITH A FRIEND ONE NIGHT PARTIALLY BECAUSE MY SPIRITS THAT NIGHT WERE LOW AND ALSO BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO MAKE SMALL CHANGES IN MY LIFE. I WATCHED AS A GROUP OF LADIES STRETCHED, TALKED AND RAN TOGETHER. WHEN I CAME AROUND THE TRACK SOMEONE SAID, “WOULD YOU LIKE TO STRETCH WITH US?” I SAID SURE AND FINISHED THEIR WORKOUT WITH THEM. WHEN I LEFT THE TRACK THAT NIGHT, I HAD NEVER FELT SO WELCOMED INTO SOMETHING. I NEVER FELT THAT LEVEL OF SUPPORT FROM A GROUP OF WOMEN WITH THE SAME GOAL, TO BE HEALTHY AND HAPPY. THEY TRULY MADE MY NIGHT. I DO PLAN ON GOING BACK BECAUSE THAT FEELING IS AMAZING.
Thank you, LaToya! We will see you in a few weeks for the Winter 2017 cohort. Look out for an email from us.
Run With Us!!
We Run Brownsville is extremely appreciative of all of the positive vibes, good energy and well wishes!!
If you are interested in running with us or supporting us, please reach us at our email address (see below).