Heather Heyer

‘Grassroots movements are all we have.’

August 17, 2017

“You are part of our community, and you must be part of our fight against hate.”

Use whatever skills and means you have.

Offer your print shop to make fliers. Share your musical talents at a rally. Give your employees the afternoon off to attend.

Be creative. Take action. Do your part to fight hate.

• 1. Act
• 2. Join Forces
• 3. Support the Victims
• 4. Speak Up
• 5. Educate Yourself
• 6. Create An Alternative
• 7. Pressure Leaders
• 8. Stay Engaged
• 9. Teach Acceptance
• 10. Dig Deeper

[SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER]

Full PDF:

https://www.splcenter.org/20170814/ten-ways-fight-hate-community-response-guide

“The good news is, all over the country people are fighting hate, standing up to promote tolerance and inclusion. More often than not, when hate flares up, good people rise up against it — often in greater numbers and with stronger voices.”

•••

“And I think the reason that what happened to Heather has struck a chord is because we know that what she did is achievable. She wanted to put down hate. Let’s channel that difference, that anger, into righteous action and say to yourself, ‘What can I do to make a difference?’

-Heather Heyer’s mom. [Heather was murdered while protesting against hate and bigotry in Charlottesville, VA.]

•••

Author and national correspondent for The Atlantic Ta-Nehisi Coates gives his first full interview since the inauguration of the current US president. He talks with Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman about his forthcoming book, “We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy.” At first glance, the title suggests the focus will be on President Barak Obama’s presidency, the first African American president. However, it begins post civil, during Reconstruction.

“The book takes its title from a gentleman who stood up in 1895, one of the black congressmen appointed during—or who won during Reconstruction, immediately after slavery. And as South Carolina was basically cementing the disenfranchisement of African Americans, he said, you know, “Listen, we were eight years in power.” And he listed all the great things that the African Americans, really, the multiracial government, you know, a tremendous experiment in democracy that followed the Civil War, had accomplished—you know, reforming—really, forming the first public school system, you know, reforming the penal system—just a list of governmental accomplishments that they had done. And he struggled to understand why folks would then perpetrate this act of disenfranchisement, given how much South Carolina had advanced during this period.

And the great W.E.B. Du Bois pointed out that the one thing white South Carolinians feared more than bad Negro government was good Negro government. It was precisely the fact of having made all of these accomplishments, because they ran counter to the ideas of white supremacy, that gave the disenfranchisement movement and the redeemers their fuel.

And I don’t think it was very different under President Barack Obama. I think it was, in fact, you know, his modesty. It was the lack of radicalism. It was the fact that he wasn’t out, you know, firebombing or, you know, throwing up the Black Power sign or doing such that made him so scary, because I think what folks ultimately fear is Africans—is kind of the ease with which African Americans could be integrated into the system, because it assaults the very ideas of white supremacy in the first place.”

Transcript excerpt from the interview:

AMY GOODMAN: Do these grassroots movements give you hope—

TA-NEHISI COATES: Yes.

AMY GOODMAN: —right now across the country?

TA-NEHISI COATES: Yes, they’re all we have. They’re all we have. They’re all we have. I smile when I see them. I’m happy to see them. They’re all we have right now.

Full Interview: https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/15/full_interview_ta_nehisi_coates_on

•••

An explosive and raw capture into the minds of white supremacists by VICE NEWS//8.16.17

“On Saturday, August 12th, hundreds of white nationalists, alt-righters, and neo-Nazis traveled to Charlottesville, Virginia, to participate in the “Unite the Right” rally. By Saturday evening three people were dead – one protester and two police officers – and many more injured.

“VICE News Tonight” correspondent Elle Reeve went behind the scenes with white nationalist leaders, including Christopher Cantwell, Robert Ray, David Duke, and Matthew Heimbach — as well as counterprotesters. VICE News Tonight also spoke with residents of Charlottesville, members of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the Charlottesville Police.

From the neo-Nazi protests at Emancipation Park to Cantwell’s hideaway outside Virginia, “VICE News Tonight” provides viewers with exclusive, up-close and personal access inside the unrest.

Full episode:

https://news.vice.com/story/vice-news-tonight-full-episode-charlottesville-race-and-terror

•••

Late Show Host Seth Meyers:

“You can stand for a nation, or you can stand for a hateful movement; you cannot do both.”

“And for those of us who study the history of hatred, bigotry, and the evils of Nazi Germany, the prospect of such relevance is most uncomfortable. If my work has taught me anything, it’s the importance of keeping the boundaries of one’s moral universe as wide as possible.”

-Jon Meacham