We Must Not Allow Centrists to Erase Heather Heyer’s Activism

Following the events in Charlottesville,Virginia, where Heather Heyer, a 32 year old paralegal, was murdered and 19 others were injured by a neo-nazi vehicular attack, many “on the left” are condemning not the neo-nazi fascists but instead the tactics of left-wing protesters who had the courage to stand up against racism and hatred.

The fascist “unite the right” rally was in response to the scheduled removal of a statue honoring known-traitor and racist Robert E. Lee. Unidentified, armed militia groups were among the white supremacist groups at the rally. Brave anti-racist counter-protesters stood against them in peaceful demonstration, however isolated brawls between the two groups of course broke out. As reported by “Democracy Now!” the police did little to intervene in this violence. Then, just before 2pm, a Neo-Nazi by the name of James Alex Fields allegedly drove into a crowd of protesters, peaceful and antifascist alike, injuring 19 and killing Heyer.

Heyer worked for Miller Law Group, a firm that assists people going through bankruptcy, and she was a member of both the Industrial Workers of the World and the Democratic Socialists of America. Michael Patterson, a fellow DSA member, started a GoFundMe campaign for his injured comrades which has so far raised over $170,000.

The ultimate impact of the terrorist attack in Charlottesville is yet to be wholly felt, as the wounds are so recent. However, in the immediate wake of this violence there has appeared a sentiment from so-called leftists that cannot be ignored.

The vile response of the alt-right is disgusting, yet expected. In some ways just as troubling, though, is the response of so-called allies. The ACLU, for example, took this opportunity to continue prioritizing the 1st Amendment defense of white-supremacist hate groups and literal nazis. And the centrist, reactionary wing of the Democratic Party continues to falsely equate the white-supremacist right with the left, using the term “alt-left” to refer to people fighting for healthcare.

It is not surprising that liberals have taken the opportunity to “protect” the free speech rights of these far-right terrorists, even as the Republican Party works to legalize vehicular attacks on demonstrators, but it is sad to see. Meanwhile, liberals are working hard to co-opt the memory of Heather Heyer and erase her membership in truly leftist organizations. In a tweet thanking groups for solidarity, for example, Indivisible left out both IWW and DSA — the two groups of which Heather Heyer was a member.

After the immediate reaction on Twitter, Indivisible has updated the image. DSA is now at the upper left, IWW still appears to be missing as of 8/15/2017.

We must honor the memory of Heather Heyer. She died for what she believed in, standing up to hatred and oppression. We must also be ever vigilant in guarding her memory from those who would erase her beliefs and co-opt her death for their own political ends. We advance the cause of the working class solidarity against exploitation and division, and in so doing fight for a future that is prosperous for all people. To do otherwise is to disrespect a brave young woman, and we simply cannot allow that.