Anti-fascist marchers in Charlottesville mark Heather Heyer anniversary

Anti-fascist marchers have held peaceful demonstrations in Charlottesville, USA, to mark the first anniversary of the death of Heather Heyer, who was killed while protesting against an extreme right rally.


Organisers accuse the University of Virginia of failing to confront extremism.

Clara Carlson, Student Organiser, said: "They're afraid of us. They are afraid of us because we are demanding change from the university. We're demanding that they actually take a stand against White Supremacy in its many forms. Against the White Supremacists that are marching, and against White Supremacy in the way that it is entrenched in this institution."

Lives Matter militants say last year's incident was not an isolated one. Lisa Woolfork, Associated Professor of English at the University of Virginia and organizer of ' Lives Matter' in Charlottesville said:

"The things that have happened here in Charlottesville could happen in other places in America. White supremacy is imprinted in the DNA of this nation, and what we saw in August 2017 was an eruption of that ideology.

32-year-old Heather Heyer was killed when a car drove into the anti-fascist demonstration that she'd been participating in. The driver is due to stand trial for her murder in November, meanwhile Heather's Susan Bro continues her daughter's campaign against violence:

"Part of why I speak out and do what I do is so that there are fewer and fewer mothers who have to cry over a lost child. And we've had an awful lot of shootings, unnecessary shootings."