Charlottesville Victim's Mother: I Will Not Forgive President Trump

Heather Heyer was a woman about my age, who was attending a protest as I often do. She was mowed down in the prime of her life by a white supremacist in Charlottesville last weekend.

And her mother’s words of courage have been downright inspirational this week—much like another grieving mother earlier this summer.

Heyer’s mom Susan Bro spoke movingly at her daughter’s funeral recently, saying “I’d rather have my child, but by golly, if I gotta give her up, we’re gonna make it count.”

Heather Heyer's mother concludes: "I'd rather have my child, but by golly, if I gotta give her up, we're gonna make it count." pic.twitter.com/Bg6aM9JzPE

— NBC News (@NBCNews) August 16, 2017

In an appearance on Good Morning America this morning, she vowed that since the President’s controversial press conference on Tuesday, she would not accept any overtures from the White House. “I saw an actual clip of him at a press conference, equating the protesters like Miss Heyer with the KKK and white supremacists,” she said to host Robin Roberts, continuing: “You can’t wash this one away by shaking my hand and saying I’m sorry. I’m not forgiving for that.”

Our hearts go out to her.

"Have you talked to [Pres. Trump] directly yet?" – @RobinRoberts

"I have not and now I will not." – Susan Bro, mother of Heather Heyer pic.twitter.com/TlqplPyi3J

— Good Morning America (@GMA) August 18, 2017

Sarah M. Seltzer

Sarah Seltzer, former editor for Kveller, is a writer and editor in New York City. She is a journalist covering culture, activism and gender, most recently as Deputy Editor at culture website Flavorwire.com. Her print and online work has appeared in publications including Poets & Writers, The Forward, Lilith, The Washington Post, Ms. Magazine, The New York Times, Salon, The Nation, The Wall Street Journal, Jezebel, The Hairpin, Refinery29, The Toast, Rolling Stone, and many more. She is a graduate of Harvard University, where she edited The Crimson’s weekend magazine, as well as the MFA in writing program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her first baby, Mikey, is growing up way too fast and she can objectively report that he is very cute. You can follow her at @sarahmseltzer and reach her at sarah@kveller.com.