Bernie Supporter and Activist, Heather Heyer Killed by Racist Alt-Right in Charlottesville

Charlottesville resident, Bernie supporter and peace activist Heather Heyer was killed by a white supremacist on 8/12/17 while leaving a hate rally promoted by the Alt Right, KKK, David Duke, Vanguard and other racist groups.  Her last facebook post right after Trump stole the election by purging votes, stated “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention”.  Donald Trump has legitimized the hate groups  that organized and attended the rally with his rhetoric of islamaphobia, LGBT discrimination and general racism.

The guy who founded the Alt- Right is Paul Gottfried.  We have asked everyone to send him an email in honor of Heather Heyer. Contact Alt-Right Leader Paul Gottfried by email to  gottfrpe@etown.ed .   Find a local rally here to support an end to the terror of the alt-right and racism. Anonymous has taken over the site called Daily Storm . com, which was used to promote the rally and the alternative right dot com site is also down as of today.

The day before the rally, a decision to move the rally from the cramped location where the General Lee statue is located, to a larger park, was blocked by a  Roanoke, VA judge. The motion to keep the supremacists’ rally at the small park was opposed by John Kluge, Alight Fund, LLC, David Posner, and Hunter Smith, and by the Downtown Business Association of Charlottesville according to court records, but the Court would not give them time to prepare briefs.

The  Charlottesville City Council voted to remove the Robert E. Lee statue last year because it represents a hero to those who wanted to continue slavery during the American Civil War. The rally was supposed to be in opposition to that decision, but was really just a reminder that the KKK is still alive and no matter what they call themselves, their message is hate and white nationalism.

Since I was born and raised in Charlottesville, I have heard a lot of comments by locals on FB, and some blame the City Council and namely, Vice-Mayor Wes Bellamy, for bringing the issue of the statue into the public forum as cities nationwide have had to re-think their Confederate flags and statues. Most of those comments get shot down by the people I would call “my more educated FB friends” who remind them how many people rioted and died when de-segregation was finally enforced in southern states where segregation lived well beyond it’s legal lifetime and where racism still lives today. For most, the statues are a reminder of who is in charge in these cities.

Some people think that racism is a thing of the past in southern states and bringing up the statue was a mistake that fueled this fire.  Others think that Trump and Bannon have stoked this fire and are getting exactly what they asked for.

Charlottesville responded on 8/17/17 with a peace vigil of approximately 1,000 people with songs and a recitation of the poem of Maya Angelou “Still I Rise”.

Posted by Showing Up for Racial Justice – SURJ Charlottesville on Wednesday, August 16, 2017

More…. (video of the murder)