Mother of Slain Activist Creates Heather Heyer Foundation to Combat Hate

‘You Don’t Have to Respond in Hate,’ Susan Bro Said

Susan Bro, the mother of slain activist Heather Heyer, has created the Heather Heyer Foundation: a not for profit corporation designed to honor her daughter’s legacy and promote social change.

“The Heather Heyer Foundation was created to honor Heather Heyer, a young civil rights activist, who dedicated her life to promoting equal rights for all people,” the foundation’s mission statement reads.

“The Foundation has established a scholarship program to provide financial assistance to individuals passionate about positive social change. Scholarships will be awarded to those seeking a degree or certification in, but not limited to, law, paralegal studies, social work, social justice, and education.”

Bro discussed the foundation with the New York Times, detailing how she’d been spending “about 13 hours a day” in working to create the foundation, an outlet for her grief. Bro noted that it’s her hope that the organization will embody Heyer’s “devotion to civil rights.”

In a touching moment during her interview, Bro recalled her daughter reaching out to her for help when a classmate had challenged her to a fight in the sixth grade. “She said, ‘Mom, I’m not a fighter. What am I going to do?’” Bro said.

“…I said, ‘You know, you talked your way into this, you need to go talk your way out of this,” she recalled, before noting that Heyer and the girl who’d tried to bully her “became fast and hard friends for a number of years.”

“We want to see more of that happen and have people recognize that you don’t have to respond in violence,” Bro said. “You don’t have to respond in hate. If you see something that is making you unhappy, then speak up about it.”

To learn more about the Heather Heyer Foundation or to contribute to its cause, you can visit its website.

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