24 Hours in Charlottesville: An Oral History of the Stand Against White Supremacy

by Nora Neus

A gripping oral history of the white nationalist riots that shook the nation and signaled the arrival of a galvanizing new era, giving unprecedented voice to those who fought back.

On August 11 and 12, 2017, armed neo-Nazi demonstrators descended on the University of Virginia campus and downtown Charlottesville. When they assaulted antiracist counterprotesters, the police failed to intervene, and events culminated in the murder of counterprotestor Heather Heyer.

In this book, Emmy-nominated CNN journalist and former Charlottesville resident Nora Neus crafts an extraordinary account from the voices of the students, faith leaders, politicians, and community members who were there. Through a vivid collage of original interviews, new statements from Charlottesville mayor Mike Signer and Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, social media posts, court testimony, and government reports, this book portrays the arrival of white supremacist demonstrators, the interfaith service held in response, the tiki torch march on the university campus, the protests and counterprotests in downtown Charlottesville the next day, and the deadly car attack. 24 Hours in Charlottesville will also feature never-before-disclosed information from activists and city government leaders, including Charlottesville mayor Mike Signer.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Politics, Race, True Crime, American History, Audiobook

264 pages, Hardcover

First published July 18, 2023

Reviews

[Traci Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very compelling. It is a fast read and it cuts deep. It is stressful and enraging. Neus puts it together really well to keep the book moving and to connect the multiple people to one another in space and time. I had a few issues with choices the author made, nothing too major, and think it could've been slightly longer (which I so rarely say). I will be haunted by these stories.

[Jessica J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a quick read, but it's intense. Highly, highly recommended.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing and important book, alternately infuriating and uplifting to read. The author's choice to present this reporting as an oral history gives it a visceral immediacy that made it impossible to stop reading. The extraordinary courage shown by the counter-protesters at Charlottesville to put their unarmed bodies on the line to stare down pure evil in the streets is truly inspiring.

[Alexis Gravely · Rating 5 out of 5]

my trauma response to A11 and A12 was to block out almost every piece of follow-up news coverage, so despite being there, I actually knew surprisingly little about how this weekend played out. a few other books have been written about the rallies, but I wasn’t really interested in reading any of them.

then, along comes nora’s book, shedding light for me six years later. the format of this book is flawless — a journal of people describing the day from their own perspectives in their own quotes (with notes from other sources sprinkled throughout for context) is exactly the type of way this story should be told. the aspects of the weekend that she has chosen to focus on hit the mark in terms of painting a complete picture of what happened and why.

the way that nora has chronicled this weekend, which i believe will be viewed by future generations as one of history’s turning points, is a remarkable contribution to society now and society to come. if there’s a single book to read to understand what happened in Charlottesville, this is it.

*note — i am in this book but i purchased my own copy and my review is sincere

[Tara Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing clear oral history of the events of August 11 and 12. It highlights and gives due credit to the work and preparation community leaders and members did to take care of each other. I had to only read a little bit each day because it was very emotionally draining

[Lydia Newman]

A difficult, terrifying, and heart-wrenching read.
Charlottesville has been my home for a few years now and August 11th & 12th are such significant events in the community; it was eye-opening to hear the events told in this format.

[Chandler Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enthralling in a gut churning, rage inducing kind of way

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to read but oral histories are fascinating to me. I expect a January 6th one some day even though I probably won’t be able to stomach it. This one was tough as it is. I was unaware of the lack of police involvement throughout this entire thing. Kind of mind boggling.

[Kristin Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this riveting and important book, counter protesters, clergy, first responders, journalists, and city officials tell of the fear and horror of the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville in August of 2017. They talk about the solidarity within the community, but also of the deep divisions, and the unpreparedness of the community to deal with such a violent and hateful attack. How do we confront hate, violence, and virulent racism and antisemitism? This book provides an eyewitness account of how Charlottesville reacted.

[vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. This is a compelling on-the-ground oral history of the events in Charlottesville on August 11-12, 2017. I can't believe it's been five years next month. I viscerally remember being on Twitter at night when the neo-Nazis first stormed with their ridiculous tiki torches on UVa's campus shouting "Jews will not replace us." This oral history focuses on survivors and folks fighting against white supremacists (no white supremacists are given space to describe their experience). There is a little bit of context related, but this is best suited for readers who know about what happened. The audiobook (thanks Libro FM for the ALC) might've been better served by having multiple narrators like The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11, but they probably didn't have a huge budget like that book. I learned a lot in the sense of how people were preparing for this before it happened and especially how clergy and organizations prepared. This is yet another indictment that cops don't prevent crime, they only get involved when crime has already been committed. RIP Heather Heyer.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A challenging book to read - in the best way possible. I definitely shed tears as I experienced the events of those days through the pages here. I think my biggest takeaway from this book (and the countless similar experiences across America) is the manner in which police see themselves in these Nazi groups & intuitively lash out at counter-Nazi organizations & people while protecting their ideological allies. That's an unsurprising conclusion for readers of this book (Trump voters aren't going to pick this book up), but I think we have work to do conveying the depth of cop complicity to society.

I was also struck, in a positive way, by the starkness of the BIPOC response to the impending assault on Cville: let their white allies stand up and put action to voiced support on the principle that the KKK & their ilk most likely won't be receptive to any narrative contrary to their views, but especially wouldn't be open to hearing anything from BIPOC people and would respond with more force instead.

[Paulette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to first mention that content warnings in books are lovely and quite necessary, and this book in particular had maps at the beginning of each chapter, which was also cool. This was such a hard read. I read some, but ended up listening to the audiobook more. I learned so much about how this happened, I don't even know where to begin, but all the while I was reading, the utter failure of the city and the police is so evident. There's so much violence that they allowed to happen, and that was so evident reading this oral history. I definitely recommend reading this, despite my slightly incoherent review/summary. It's just so sad and frustrating.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Using the oral history format to present many different voices of an event was a very effective way to understand the events in 2017 that led to the death of Heather Heyer and injuries to at least 17 others. I learned much more about the Charlottesville white supremacy action than I was able to understand from the news at the time. This oral history was gripping, suspenseful and shocking. There are many lessons to be learned from this event and this book is a great step towards highlighting what could have been done better.

[Deborah Bluminberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember watching the news coverage of this event in 2017 and the political fallout and explanations and being saddened, appalled, and totally disheartened by the state of our country. The oral histories in this book give real emotion and life to these events. I heard an interview with the author on The Stacks, a podcast about books, where she explained her decision not to feature the viewpoints and opinions of the armed neo-Nazi demonstrators involved. The big takeaway from this book is how incredibly unprepared city officials, fire and police officials and administration from UVa were. Many of these injuries did not have to happen.

[Bruce Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important story to tell, but told in possibly the worst way imaginable: a series of quotes from a wide variety of people covering numerous situations, locales, and incidents throughout the day of the demonstrations in Charlottesville. It would have been, I think, far better for the author to have written a cohesive narrative that included these many perspectives and situations. Nonetheless, worth reading.

[Beth Given · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the summer of 2017, I was dealing with a lot of anxiety and grief in my personal life, in the thick of raising kids. I missed a lot of major news stories. I read this book so I could get a better understanding of what happened in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 11-12, 2017. I do feel like I know the events of those two days now.

This really is a collection of eyewitness accounts, focused on the two days of violence. There is basically no commentary; it's truly just a litany of testimony. I'm glad this book exists, though the listening experience is a little bit clunky.

Violence and language.

[Eva Surovell · Rating 5 out of 5]

i’ve consumed a lot of media relating to A11/12 by virtue of doing student journalism at UVA & this book stands out as a particularly well-constructed account that i think really effectively demonstrates how inadequately local + state government prepared for the weekend. should be mandatory reading for all UVA students and alums.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars rounded up

[Trianna/Treereads]

I learned a lot listening to this, but really wish there had been multiple narrators on the audiobook bc I could not keep track of all the people who were quoted.

[Desi A · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is so much that could be said about August 11/12, 2017. We watched and waited — at the distant reaches of the city limits in the safety of our own home (while hosting a bunch of kids and parents for JP’s 5th birthday party). It seemed very surreal to follow what was happening.

Neus’ oral history made those days and the weeks leading up to them achingly real.

[Graham Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not that I want to mark next week’s anniversary of the 2017 Unite the Right rally for white supremacists and the death of counterprotester Heather Heyer, but reading “24 Hours in Charlottesville” did seem prudent as we’re in yet another Presidential election cycle where the shadow of what set up the Rally continues to linger. I had visited Charlottesville for camp in 2010 and I couldn’t have possibly imagined the nightmare that townsfolk, University of VA-affiliated individuals, and counter protestors would have to endure years later. Reading Nora Neus’ account gave me some idea of the hell that was that day.

Neus’ book is a collection of first hand accounts of the 24 hours before, during, and after the height of the August 12th rally and the one white supremacist driving his car into a crowd of protestors and killing Heyer. There’s also a review of a July 17th KKK rally in the town (and subsequent crackdown of counterprotestors by police) which I either never knew happened or forgot about because of how much Unite the Right dominated the news cycle that summer. In general I appreciated how Neus told the story of these events and how she would often remind the reader who each interviewee is and their affiliation as there are a lot in the book. In general she does a good job presenting the perspectives of the counter protestors, locals, UVA staff, government officials and emergency personnel (kudos to her for refusing to interview any of the racist/fascist protestors responsible for the day’s events). It’s pretty balanced although the narrative does lean against the cops.

Just in general reading the book is an emotional experience. For the most part, most of the time reading the book made me feel enraged, both for how the racist fascists were able to get away with their intimidation/physical violence and the town/university/state police just standing by and letting it happen for the most part. The final chapters were more upsetting due to covering what happened to Heyer and her fellows and the aftermath. The chapter describing the car attack itself was disorienting and the accounts from interviewees is jumbled up. Yet that worked to the book’s advantage as it (regretfully) replicated the confusion that was on the street when the car hit.

Overall “24 Hours in Charlottesville” was a good account of an event I knew the general framework of but not particular details of (either because I never looked too closely at them or because the last few years of headlines definitely could pound one’s head in and you forget unprecedented events soon after the next one hits). It does feel like Nora Neus could have looked beyond the 24 Hour period to recount what happened next (i.e., the reactions to “very fine people on both sides”) but the overall point Neus had for the book is still effective. It’s certainly not an easy book to read but 24 Hours in Charlottesville is a good review of that hellish day’s events, reminding its readers what is still out there and needs to be pushed back.

[Isabelle Agnew · Rating 5 out of 5]

*As a Collections Management Librarian, I was given an ARC of this book for free as consideration for our collection.

This book was unlike any other I have ever read. And not because of the content (although I've also never read a book about Charlottesville) but because of the form. It reads the way a documentary watches, if that makes sense.

The way Neus combines interviews with dozens of people who were there, on the ground, in Charlottesville paints such an amazing picture. I was truly able to feel the events as if I was there.

Knowing that what I read was an eARC, I will mention that the formatting was a little wonky in the version I read. The maps were weird little icons, so I couldn't quite see the images. There also weren't any line breaks between quotes, which was a little weird at first but eventually I figured it out. I also only realized there were chapters like 3/4 of the way through because the formatting made it look like there wasn't. All formatting issues that I don't fault the author or the publishing house for, but I do hope are resolved in the final ebook.

I learned a lot about white supremacy and the ways it unraveled in Charlottesville from this book. I think this is an important read for anyone trying to better understand how this stuff happens and how we can all work to prevent it in the future. It is, however, a very hard book to read, for obvious reasons, so keep that in mind. I do really appreciate the inclusion of content warnings at the beginning of the book.

[Tara Gold · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.

This was an interesting read that covered the 24 hours in Charlottesville surrounding the White Supremacist marches that resulted in the death of Heather Heyer. The text is a compliation of accounts, mostly in block text quotes in the words of those who lived it, to tell the story.

I learned a lot from this about what happened that day -- particularly in regards to how much Charlottesville expected this to a violent event, and how both the city and faith/activist communities responded and prepared. Neus's compliation of accounts are particularly critical of the police and their inaction as things got heated between the protestors and counter-protestors.

I will say that format here, which is probably typical of oral histories?, felt a little dry. It was mostly strung together quotes, and I think I prefer storytelling that synthesizes narratives and builds out the story that way. So while I found this informative, I can't say that I necessarily found the reading experience smooth and fluid.

[Tami · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew about Charlottesville and a general idea of what happened, white nationalists versus the City of Charlottesville, and a truck running into protesters. This book gave great detail of the events by using documented interviews with those involved, from the protesters, EMS, the government, and reporters. It really gave me and idea of why it happened, and why it got so far. There were so many times that events could have went into a different direction and possibly saved a life and prevented many injuries. It was a dark day in Charlottesville, and one that will be remembered.

[LaDawn Herndon · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s very hard to write a review for a book like this. Words/phrases that describe it would be: brutal, hard to read, in-the-moment, etc. As someone who works in Charlottesville and is very familiar with Aug 8-12 and all of the events leading up to those dates (and beyond), reading this book allowed me to learn a lot of what was happening behind the scenes and I thought that was neat. Read via audiobook, would’ve loved to have had multiple narrators to help with the flow of the book.

[Carolyn Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

“24 Hours in Charlottesville - An Oral History of the Stand Against White Supremacy” by Nora Neus, narrated by Amara Jasper.
This book reads like a documentary of the events that occurred on August 11 & 12 2017. Made up of original interviews, social media posts, court testimony and gov reports from local clergy, the mayor, Governor, university staff, eye witnesses and counter protesters. It shows how totally unprepared the City was for the Rally and how the Police did little if anything to intervene. A hard but important listen/ read for those of us trying go to do better. As a content warming the book details how the Neo nazis acted/ behaved and this was difficult to comprehend .

Slated for release on 17th July 2023.
Thanks to @talismanonpender @librofm @beaconpress for the #ALC #ARC

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who wants an inside look at the horrible events of August 11-12, 2017, in Charlottesville, VA, this book is a must read! Stunned all over again by the ravages reaped on this small town by a large group of white supremacists and a town that was utterly unprepared for the immensity of the event, this account is told from the perspectives of the people who were there living through it. Mesmerizing and terrifying!

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good telling of the events that happened in Charlottesville by the people that were there when it happened and the people affected by the events of what happened. It was so obvious while reading this that there was definitely more that could have been done by law enforcement and I can only hope they learned from this and to be more prepared if it ever happens again.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a searing and emotional first person account of the neo-Nazi March in Charlottesville in 2017. It is heart wrenching to read. I would have like more context and background such as why the police did not respond as protesters were being threatened. I would have like an epilogue with background before and after information. But a very good book.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

an important history for a weekend that became a turning point

If you really want to understand what went down in Charlottesville, read this book. You hear from the activists, the Mayor and his wife and even the Governor. You’ll be inside the command bunker and on the streets as history unfolds.