August 11, 2017 started like any other normal day in Charlottesville. In the quiet town that rests within the Blue Ridge Mountains, home to the University of Virginia, there rose a gathering. Usually that means people are coming together to see the Cavaliers play, but this wasn’t for athletics, this was about something far more sinister. 

A group called “Unite the Right” came with the purpose of not just letting their voices be heard, but to be audible with their fists. On August 12th, chaos ensued and it resulted in the loss of life. Charlottesville, the home of Thomas Jefferson, became the hotbed of the racism that has long been the foundation of the country. 

Three years have passed since white supremacists and neo-Nazis gathered in Charlottesville with their tiki-torches, Confederate flags, and Swastikas. They came from all over the country to incite hate in the city. They marched through the streets chanting, “Jews will not replace us!” They murdered Heather Heyer. And yet, nothing has changed. 

Yes, they prosecuted the man who killed Heyer and injured 28 other people, but his supporters, the men who marched alongside him, walked away with no consequences for their actions.

The president spoke about and defended the neo-Nazis, saying they were “very fine people”, and that’s probably because most of them were his supporters. 

The Trump Administration has fought to remove protections against discrimination. From ending Department of Justice oversight of juvenile detention centers, to the Department of Health and Human Services announcing a rule to allow health workers to deny care to patients on religious or moral grounds, Trump has rolled back hundreds of protections and appointed dozens of unqualified bigots to offices they shouldn’t hold.

Every day, we see people who want to foster hate in our country, in our commonwealth, and even in our local community, as the KKK continue to recruit throughout the area. Though, we no longer have a Board of County Supervisors comprised of people who are more than willing to remain complicit in such bigotry. In fact, our new Supervisors have shown they are ready to voice their opposition. 

“Last week, in honor of Heather Heyer, who was tragically killed as she peacefully protested racism and bigotry, I presented a resolution condemning white supremacy and promoting racial inclusion in our community,” said Supervisor Kenny Boddye, D-Occoquan. “It passed with bipartisan support. Whenever we see white supremacy rear its monstrous head, we cannot be silent. The purveyors of hate and bigotry who would supplant one race beneath another are un-American, and should know not quarter on our shores.”

Though this resolution passed with bipartisan support, there’s still a lot of work to be done, both locally and nationally. With the Black Lives Matter Movement reaching a new level of recognition, our nation is at a turning-point in its history. As the nation is approximately 82 days away from the November general election, not since the days of Nixon has there been such blatant disregard for communities of color, and it’s up to the voters of today to ensure that real change happens. Proclamations against racism are great. But more is needed, and that starts with voting for those who will make that happen.

More states have begun to declare that racism is not just an institutional problem, but a health crisis. It’s time for a national declaration that seeks to fight against this health crisis that has been embedded in our country’s history. It’s time to address these issues instead of expecting innocent people like Heather Heyer to die because of a national culture that is rooted in hate. 

Charlottesville was not an isolated incident, and we must stop pretending it was.