Ricky Byrdsong Memorial Race Against Hate

Ricky Byrdsong Memorial
Race Against Hate

8K & 5K RUN/WALK
YOUTH MILE/HALF MILE FUN RUN

Each year, Race Against Hate, the largest racial justice run/walk event of its kind in the nation, brings together thousands of people from all over Chicagoland and the country to run and walk in unity against racial hatred and violence.

Sunday, June 15, 2025

7:30am start | Floyd Long Field, Evanston, IL

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ATTENDED AND SUPPORTED THIS YEAR’S RACE!

Visit the Race Against Hate website to learn more about the race, fundraising, volunteer opportunities and more

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Photos by Genie Lemieux / Evanston Photographic Studios.

Photos by Zoe Davis @zoedavisphoto.

CONTACT US!

If you have questions about the Race, please contact Jamie Kendrick, Development & Events Manager.

SPONSORSHIP

Increase Your Impact—Become a Race Against Hate Sponsor!

Join YWCA Evanston/North Shore in the fight for racial justice and equity by sponsoring the Race Against Hate. As the largest racial justice run/walk event in the country, this annual Father’s Day tradition brings together thousands of participants, offering sponsors high visibility, community engagement, and a chance to align with a powerful movement for change. Sponsorship benefits include logo placement on race materials, recognition in digital and print promotions, on-site event exposure, and opportunities for employee engagement. Your support directly funds racial equity, violence prevention, and survivor support programs—making a lasting impact in our community.

All sponsor inquires should be emailed to Mindy Scott, VP, Development.

TRAINING

Calling All Walkers and Runners! Train for the Race Against Hate with the Evanston Running Club!

The Evanston Running Club invites you to join their FREE 0-5K Training Program. This 12-week walk-to-run group program will strengthen your cardio fitness through a structured plan leading up to the Ricky Byrdsong Race Against Hate on June 15th.  

 The group will meet every Sunday at 7:30 a.m. at Dawes Park, beginning March 16th. Click here for more information. 

PRESS/MEDIA

For media inquiries, please contact Erin Venable, VP Marketing and Communications.

Click here to view photos from the 2024 Race Against Hate on Facebook.

Race Against Hate in the News

WGN Daytime Chicago, June 4, 2024

“Thousands to participate in 25th annual Ricky Byrdsong Memorial Race Against Hate”, ABC7 Chicago Eyewitness News

The Race Supports Our Mission

Proceeds from Race Against Hate are used to further the mission of YWCA Evanston/North Shore, in particular our efforts in the areas of racial justice and violence prevention. With this funding, YWCA assists children in our schools and local youth organizations to challenge their own prejudices and foster healthy, violence-free relationships among their peers; supports teenagers in examining their own relationships and practicing constructive ways to handle conflict and differences; and encourages adults to engage in constructive dialogue, interactive activities and meaningful action as related to violence prevention and racial justice.

History of the Race

The Race Against Hate honors the legacy of Ricky Byrdsong, former Northwestern University Basketball Coach, Vice President of Affairs at Aon Corporation, and Skokie resident who was murdered by a white supremacist in 1999 while walking in his neighborhood with two of his young children. On the same day, the shooter wounded six Orthodox Jews in Rogers Park. Over the subsequent weekend, he killed a Korean American graduate student in Indiana and wounded an African American minister in Decatur before taking his own life.

Because of Ricky’s lifelong love of sports and his compelling work with young people in the community, the Race Against Hate was launched by his family and friends in 2000 (and entrusted to  YWCA Evanston/North Shore in 2007) to honor Ricky’s legacy and bring attention to the need to combat hatred in all its forms. (Read Sherialyn Byrdsong’s story of the founding of the Race Against Hate.)

View Sherialyn Byrdsong’s message below to the community on the 20th anniversary of the Race Against Hate, and the Walk Against Hate she inspired in her hometown of Atlanta:
“One of Ricky’s favorite quotes, which he patterned his life after, and tried to instill in his family, friends, and players was, “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. We have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change the past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it.” This Race Against Hate is our 90%. We have responded to Ricky’s death in a way that would make him proud.”
— SHERIALYN BYRDSONG