Charlottesville mayor: City has ‘absolutely not’ healed since last year’s rally

Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker said Sunday that the city has “absolutely not” healed since last year’s white nationalist rally turned deadly.
Walker told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that “deep-seated racism” in Charlottesville has not been addressed within the past year.
“A year isn’t long enough,” Walker said. “We’re talking about issues that have been going on here for centuries.”
Charlottesville Mayor @NikuyahWalkerCC says the community is still healing a year after the violent rallies in the city left three dead. pic.twitter.com/bZ8bHPnU6T
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) August 12, 2018
But, Walker said, issues of racism aren’t confined to Charlottesville.
“We heard them in Florida with Trayvon Martin, and Ferguson, and with Tamir Rice in Cleveland,” she said. “We hear these stories about people who are just shocked at where we are in our communities in regards to racism. But even once the facts are presented, people really don’t want to change their actions to help truly heal that.”
Walker’s comments come on the anniversary of last year’s white nationalist-led “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville that resulted in the death of one counter-protester, local resident Heather Heyer, and the injuries of dozens of others.
President Trump faced significant criticism over his response to the rally when he said there was “blame” and “very fine people” on “both sides.” On Saturday, Trump tweeted that he condemns “all types of racism and acts of violence,” though he did not assign blame for racism.
Walker also said Sunday that “there has been good” that has come in the year since the demonstrations.
“We have a good segment of the population who has come together to fight … taken on the call to make sure that justice and equity is a part of their everyday lives and understand that they have to take that into every room they walk in,” she said.
Hundreds of white nationalists and their opponents are set to demonstrate Sunday outside the White House on Sunday evening for “Unite the Right 2.”
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