Last Saturday, white nationalists armed with torches and racist ideologies marched through the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, presumably to protest the city’s attempt to remove a Robert E. Lee statue. Soon after, a counter protest erupted near the original march, where a man driving a Dodge Challenger rammed into the crowd, injuring 19 people and killing one. The tragedy killed 32-year-old Heather Heyer, a paralegal living in Charlottesville. She had previously spoken out against the inequalities that exist under the Trump administration and encouraged those around her to do the same. Her contributions were well beloved and remembered by her community.
Her mother, Helen Bro, stood in front of 1,200 mourners at an emotional memorial service for her daughter and announced “the beginning of Heather’s legacy”. Along with her mother, her father and grandfather spoke at the memorial. There were concerns about the event being targeted by far-right organizations, but with heavy security, there were no major incidents.
At first, Bro thanked Trump for his “support”, but quickly changed her mind after she saw the press conference where he defended the white nationalists, bigots, and racists that stood in Charlottesville. She has since stated that she has “no interest” in talking to him. Heyer’s mother acknowledges the calls but has refused to take them. She says his words cannot be easily forgiven. “The blood on the streets, is that what makes America great? Attacking innocent people with a vehicle, is that what makes America great?”
“The blood on the streets, is that what makes America great? Attacking innocent people with a vehicle, is that what makes America great?”
At a press conference, Trump made his allegiances unclear. Not only did he fail to condemn the actions of literal Nazis and white supremacists, he even equated those peacefully protesting against them with the KKK, naming them the so-called ‘alt-left’. How can we trust a president that can’t even condemn those who drive over innocent people with cars? How can we unite as a country and make compromises when one side can’t even accept equality?
