08/13/2026
Nine years ago today, Heather Heyer was killed by a neo-Nazi/Alt-Right supporter during a protest against the white supremacist "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. After her death in 2017, her mother, Susan Bro, said that her daughter, a 32-year-old Charlottesville civil rights activist and paralegal, had attended the protest because she "was about bringing an end to injustice." Bro observed that “[Heather] always had a very strong sense of right and wrong, she always, even as a child, was very caught up in what she believed to be fair. Somehow I almost feel that this is what she was born to be, is a focal point for change... She died doing what was right. My heart is broken, but I am forever proud of her."
According to Charlottesville officials, Heyer was killed while crossing the street when a 20-year-old Kentucky native who had recently moved to Ohio deliberately plowed into a crowd of people protesting the neo-Nazis and white nationalists who had assembled in the liberal college town, injuring 35 people, several critically, in addition to killing Heyer. After being jailed for several months on a lesser homicide charge, the charge against James Alex Fields Jr. was upgraded to first-degree murder after a judge determined that the attack was premeditated. He was sentenced to life in prison plus 419 years. Two state troopers, Lt. H. Jay Cullen and Trooper Berke M.M. Bates, who were en route to provide support to the city after the neo-Nazi terror attack, were also killed when their helicopter crashed.
At her daughter's memorial service, Bro asked mourners to honor Heather by turning "anger into righteous action" against injustice. Following her death, the Charlottesville City Council unanimously voted to rename the street where she was killed as "Heather Heyer Way," officially dedicating it in December 2017. This location evolved into a living memorial where visitors leave flowers and chalk messages on the brick walls expressing love, remembrance, and condemnation of racism.
Even nine years after her death, Heather's final Facebook post remains poignant and sadly relevant: “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention."
The time to talk to children and teens about taking a stand against hatred and prejudice of all kinds is now -- for books to make these conversations easier, visit our blog post “60 Mighty Girl Books About Standing Up for Others” at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=13481
For stories for children that encourage them to take a stand on behalf of others -- even in the face of opposition -- we recommend "Dare" for ages 4 to 8 (https://www.amightygirl.com/dare), "The Hundred Dresses" for ages 6 to 10 (https://www.amightygirl.com/the-hundred-dresses), "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" for ages 9 to 13 (https://www.amightygirl.com/the-witch-of-blackbird-pond), and "Wolf Hollow" for ages 10 and up (https://www.amightygirl.com/wolf-hollow)
For an excellent book to help give kids the confidence to stand up for themselves and others against bullying or intolerance, we highly recommend “Stand Up For Yourself and Your Friends” for age 7 to 12 at https://www.amightygirl.com/stand-up-for-yourself-and-your-friends
To inspire children and teens with more stories of real-life girls and women who fought for change and stood up for justice, visit our blog post, "Dissent Is Patriotic: 50 Books About Women Who Fought for Change," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=14364 A
For more books about girls and women confronting prejudice in many forms - be it due to gender, race/ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, or religion - visit our "Prejudice & Discrimination" book section at http://amgrl.co/2lsV8F0
