WASHINGTON 鈥� It鈥檚 been a little over three weeks since the in Charlottesville where Heather Heyer was killed. In the aftermath, people in this college town are still grappling with what happened.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really hard to have this violence in our town and have somebody die a few blocks from our house,鈥� said Grace Hale, a University of Virginia professor of 20th Century Southern History.
She and her daughter, Emma Hale, are still in shock over the violence.
鈥淚 still can鈥檛 believe this happened,鈥� said Emma Hale, who鈥檚 a senior at a local high school in Charlottesville.
Once again this year Grace Hale was talking to her colleagues at U.Va. about how this was the hardest start of the new school that they鈥檝e ever had.
鈥漌e just said that two years ago. We just said that three years ago,” she said.
This small city is no stranger to grief and tension, having weathered what followed in the cases of and a about a U.Va. gang rape.
The deadly riots on Aug. 12 were sparked by a protest against . Ricky Jordan, who is African-American and lives in Charlottesville, doesn鈥檛 have an issue with the statue.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not bothering me for real,鈥� Jordan said.
But what does bother him is the violence.
鈥淗ate is wrong. You don鈥檛 hurt no innocent people. You don鈥檛 do stuff like that because it鈥檚 wrong. God don鈥檛 believe you doing that,鈥� Jordan said.
But Grace Hale does take issue with the statue and other Confederate statues. She wants them taken down.
鈥淚 wanted them to come down before these events,” Hale said.
But where Hale and Jordan do agree is that they are both critical of how things were handled by the city and police.
Hale said, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have behind the scene information but it鈥檚 completely beyond my understanding why the police didn鈥檛 intervene in the violence, people being pummeled right here on the streets, right here where we鈥檙e standing [Emancipation Park].鈥�
She adds, 鈥淚 think we have problems with leadership on all fronts.鈥�
鈥淎ll the top people should be put to the side,鈥� Jordan said.
Charlottesville resident Karen Yanchunis was overcome with emotion as she came to Emancipation Park, where the Robert E. Lee on horseback statue stands, for the first time since the violence.
鈥淲hat happened is horrific,鈥� she said. But she feels when Charlottesville comes out on the other side of recent events that it will be stronger.
鈥淚 really feel like we鈥檝e gotten more united,鈥� Yanchunis said.
But she鈥檚 conflicted about the Lee statue which the city has covered up in a black tarp.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not about the statue. It really isn鈥檛. The statue has been here forever,鈥� Yanchunis said, but because of what happened she says she wants the statue moved 鈥� perhaps to a museum.
