The state of Georgia will formally memorialize Ahmaud Arbery on Wednesday, the second anniversary of his death.

The Georgia General Assembly passed a resolution this month declaring Feb. 23 to be Ahmaud Arbery Day in perpetuity. Lawmakers called Mr. Arbery one of the state’s “most distinguished citizens” and declared that he suffered a “senseless loss of his life because of the color of his skin.”

The resolution noted two significant legislative changes in response to Mr. Arbery’s killing in 2020 outside of the South Georgia community of Brunswick: a new state hate crimes law and the dismantling of Georgia’s 19th-century citizen’s arrest law, a statute that was initially cited as justification for the actions of Mr. Arbery’s pursuers.

In Brunswick, several events are planned to mark the anniversary, including a march, a 2.23-mile run in honor of Mr. Arbery and a walk through the Satilla Shores neighborhood where he was killed.

In Atlanta, the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation, founded by Mr. Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, will hold an event in his memory. The foundation is a nonprofit organization focused on the mental health and wellness of Black men and boys.

And in Marietta, Ga., on Wednesday a prayer vigil and observance of the anniversary of Mr. Arbery’s death will be held by the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office. It was lawyers from Cobb County who successfully prosecuted the murder trial in Mr. Arbery’s killing in state court last fall.