Thousand of people turned out this morning on the Evanston lakefront for the 17th running of the annual Ricky Brydsong Memorial Race Against Hate.
The event, sponsored by the YWCA Evanston/North Shore, is designed to bring attention to the need to combat hatred in all its forms.
The race honors former Northwestern University basketball coach Ricky Byrdsong, who was killed in his Skokie neighborhood by a white supremacist while walking with his young children in June 1999.
The event features chip-timed 5K and 10K runs, a 5K walk and a fun youth mile.
Proceeds from the race benefit the work of the YWCA, especially in the areas of violence prevention and racial equity.