Heather Heyer’s Mom Gives Powerful Speech At VMAs: ‘I Know She’s Here Tonight’

Heather Heyer’s mom, Susan Bro, gave a powerful speech while presenting the Best Fight Against the System Award at the MTV VMAs. Read her beautiful words, here!

Heather Heyer, 32, died after being struck by a car while counter-protesting a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville. Her vicious murder by a suspected white supremacist has made her the poster child for the antifa, and her mother, Susan Bro, has said that she will not let her daughter’s death be in vain. Susan was asked to present the newly added, prestigious Best Fight Against the System Award at the MTV Video Music Awards on August 27. The award is awarded to those who reflect “the audience’s passion and activism surrounding environmental justice, immigration, LGBTQ equality, and racial justice.”

Susan took the stage at the VMAs to raucous cheers and whistles, and she got teary-eyed as she started talking about her courageous daughter: “Only 15 days ago, my daughter was killed as she protested racism. I miss her, but I know she’s here tonight. I’m deeply moved to see people across the world, all over the world, be inspired by her courage,” Susan told the audience at the Forum in Los Angeles. “I’m announcing the Heather Heyer Foundation, a nonprofit for scholarships. I don’t want Heather to die in vain. I want people to know that Heather never marched alone. She was joined by ppl of every race and every background across the country.”

So beautiful! Susan went on to announce that MTV would be giving the Best Fight Against the System Award to all six nominees, instead of just one. The winners, and their videos, are: Logic ft. Damian Lemar Hudson, “Black Spiderman”, The Hamilton Mixtape, “Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)”, Big Sean, “Light”, Alessia Cara, “Scars To Your Beautiful”, Taboo ft. Shailene Woodley, “Stand Up/Stand N Rock #NoDAPL”, and John Legend, “Surefire”. “I look forward to the important work that they, and all of you, will do to make the world a better, kinder place,” Susan said.

“When [MTV] first asked me I hadn’t realized how far-reaching Heather’s message had been,” she told PEOPLE. “I was a bit skeptical. ‘What do you want a 60-year-old woman on your show for?’ I didn’t realize how many people were paying attention. But now I’ve realized this is bigger than Heather, this is bigger than me. This is something that touches people everywhere, the idea that you can stand up and be counted, that you have it within you to be that hero, so I feel like I have an obligation to share that.”

HollywoodLifers, what did you think of Susan’s speech at the MTV Video Music Awards? Let us know!