The mother of Heather Heyer, the young woman killed by a suspected neo-Nazi in Charlottesville, Virginia earlier this month, will present an award at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Susan Bro was invited to the show, where she will present the Best Fight Against the System award, a new category that was added in recognition of ‘the audience’s passion and activism surrounding environmental justice, immigration, LGBTQ equality, and racial justice.’
‘Since my daughter Heather Heyer’s death two weeks ago I have committed myself to making her death count,’ Bro said in a statement.
Susan Bro, whose daughter, Heather Heyer, the young woman killed by a suspected neo-Nazi in Charlottesville, Virginia earlier this month, is seen above arriving at The Forum in Inglewood, California on Sunday, where she will present an award at MTV’s Video Music Awards
Bro was seen on the red carpet arriving at the festivities alongside country singer Billy Ray Cyrus
‘That is why I am launching the Heather Heyer Foundation. I can think of no better platform to promote this foundation to the world than at the MTV’s Video Music Awards.
‘It’s going to be an honor for me to be presenting the Best Fight the System award there tonight.’
Before the show, Bro told PEOPLE she was initially hesitant to accept the invite from MTV.
‘When they 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?”
Heyer died on August 12 when a car plowed into a crowd of counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia
‘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.’
Before the show began at The Forum in Inglewood, California, Bro was seen on the red carpet arriving at the festivities alongside country singer Billy Ray Cyrus.