AN OPEN LETTER TO HEATHER HEYER

Dahlia Ferlito
Aug 28, 2017 · 4 min read

Dear Heather,

We never had the occasion to meet, but if you were in Los Angeles, or I in Charlottesville, I feel certain we would have. We’d been walking the same path. I didn’t know you, yet mourn deeply for our loss. I do mean ours — all who fight for justice in this country can claim you as ours.

You were me, I am you, we are all Heather Heyer.

As the days have passed, we’ve received more information about you — who you were, your spirit, your drive to make this world a better place and, most notably, that you paid the ultimate price. You have become a martyr for anti-racist white people in America — for those of us who work to co-create an America free of racist violence, where the ideals of justice and equality enshrined in the constitution and espoused by politicians on all sides are actualized for all who reside here. As I came to know of you, it was clear that we shared the same devotion to white anti-racist action, and made the choice be part of what Anne Braden termed the “other America.

Heather, you were us. We are you.

That Saturday, you woke up and prepared your mind, body, and spirit for a day of resistance, of anti-racist action against the Nazis and White Supremacists. You knew, like we all did, that just standing up meant facing the possibility of violence and bodily harm. Yet, you stepped up and resisted anyway, along with many thousands of courageous others who defended Charlottesville. I’m sure when you awoke, you did not plan for that day to be your last.

The movement lost an important soul that day. We also saw many others injured and traumatized. Yet the movement refused to claim defeat. In fact, it remains undeterred and more fierce than before.

“If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention” read your Facebook wall, undoubtedly a call for others to join you. Now our country’s attention is riveted and we see more white people outraged than before. To all the white people across the country who are outraged and not involved, who may be frightened, ambivalent, or confused in these times, there is a place for you in the anti-racist movement.

In Heather’s name, and in the name of justice, please find a way to take some action, to help dismantle racism and white supremacy in all its forms, that still run deep. We’re in an historical moment where our country must reckon and decide which side of history it will be on. To all the white people of America, what side of history will you be on?

As we recognize Heather, we also recognize the countless sacrifices of Black people, Indigenous people, and other people of color who’ve led and participated in resistance struggles over time. They have put their bodies on the line and risked life and limb for centuries against a racist, sexist, classist, ableist, homophobic and transphobic system that keeps us divided and benefits the few.

Heather, you’ve joined the ranks of those who paid the ultimate price for justice in this country. It’s my hope that your sacrifice is not in vain; that we all heed the words of your mother when she said, “I’d rather have my child, but, by golly, if I got to give her up, we’re going to make it count.” To Heather’s mother, we will make this count.

Yours truly,

Dahlia Ferlito

White People 4 Black Lives, Los Angeles

www.awarela.org

whitepeople4racialjustice@gmail.com

www.showingupforracialjustice.org

Dahlia Ferlito is a co-founder of White People 4 Black Lives (WP4BL), a white anti-racist collective and activist project of the Alliance of White Anti-Racists Everywhere (AWARE-LA); WP4BL operates within a national network of white anti-racists called Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) and is rooted in acting in solidarity with Black Lives Matter: Los Angeles.

Special thanks to Karen Hilfman and the WP4BL editing team.

White People 4 Black Lives

White anti-racists organizing, mobilizing and educating white people to act as part of a multi-racial majority to fight for racial justice in LA & beyond.

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Dahlia Ferlito

Written by

White People 4 Black Lives

White anti-racists organizing, mobilizing and educating white people to act as part of a multi-racial majority to fight for racial justice in LA & beyond.

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