Heather Heyer may be gone, but she won’t be silenced.
That’s one thing the mother of the 32-year-old — who was killed on Saturday when a car plowed into a crowd of counter-protesters at Charlottesville’s white nationalist rally — made clear at the activist’s memorial service.
On Wednesday, Susan Bro received a standing ovation as she assured mourners Heather’s death only “magnified” her voice — and that continuing to have dialogues is the only way to “carry Heather’s spark through.”
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She told the crowd of over 1,000 people:
“They tried to kill my child to shut her up — well, guess what — you just magnified her├óΓé¼┬ª I want this to spread, I don’t want this to die. This is just the beginning of Heather’s legacy.”
The memorial was held Wednesday morning at Charlottesville’s Paramount Theater and attended by many including Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Sen. Tim Kaine.
Bro revealed that a public memorial is what her daughter would have wanted, adding Heather “had to have the world involved [in her death], because that’s my child. Always has been.”
The Charlottesville native encouraged attendees to make Heather’s death worthwhile by continuing her fight in advocacy for equal rights. She explained:
“Conversations have to happen. That’s the only way we’re going to carry Heather’s spark through├óΓé¼┬ª Find what’s wrong, don’t ignore it, don’t look the other way. Say to yourself, ‘What can I do to make a difference?’ And that’s how you’re going to make my child’s death worthwhile.”
Heather’s grandfather Elwood Shrader also spoke at the service, remembering the activist had always shown passion for fairness and justice. Shrader said his granddaughter, who worked as a paralegal, was always willing to understand someone else’s viewpoint even if she didn’t agree with it.
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Heather’s father Mark Heyer broke down during his emotional speech. While he also spoke on her lifelong battle for equality, Mark emphasized her fight to put an end to hate, adding:
“She wanted equality. And in this issue of the day of her passing, she wanted to put down hate. And for my part, we just need to stop all this stuff and just forgive each other.”
We can’t think of anything more commendable than parents at the center of civil unrest preaching about forgiveness at their daughter’s memorial. After all, hate only leads to more hate.
Watch the heartbreaking clips of Heather’s parents speaking at her service (below).
Charlottesville victim Heather Heyer├óΓé¼Γäós mother: “They tried to kill my child to shut her up. Well, guess what: you just magnified her.” pic.twitter.com/qplRC8g2lc
— CNN (@CNN) August 16, 2017
Heather Heyer├óΓé¼Γäós father: “She wanted to put down hate… we just need to stop all this stuff and just forgive each other… love one another” pic.twitter.com/4GrtSeGGOE
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) August 16, 2017
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