The city of Charlottesville held an emotional ceremony today to honor the woman killed when white supremacists and counter protesters clashed there last summer.
It was on this street, between Market and Water, that Heather Heyer lost her life when a neo-Nazi crashed his car into a crowd of counter protesters. Now, those three blocks have been renamed Heather Heyer Way. Her mother, Susan Bro, hoped this gesture would inspire others.
“We get contacts from people all over the world saying, ‘Because of Heather I now feel empowered to stand up. I now feel empowered to do the right thing,’ Bro says. "What other legacy could a mother ever want for her child?”
Her father, Mark Heyer, said this honor was more than a memorial.
“It’s about her legacy and what she stood for being infectious for all of us to do that – to lift somebody up, to make them smile, because we can do a whole lot more if we just stomp out the hate, begin to forgive and start loving one another,”he says.
And Mayor Mike Signer said this was just one way in which the city is healing and transcending the tragedy of August 12th.
“I see this in light of Susan Bro’s call at the memorial service to magnify Heather’s voice as a way to fight back against the terrorists who tried to silence her and thousands of people like her who believe in social justice,” Signer explains.
On either side of the street, just off the downtown mall, graffiti on brick walls reinforces the message – black lives matter, and hate is heavy, so let it go.
