Politics are centre stage at MTV Video Music Awards
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — From the very first prize presented Sunday, and even before the show began, politics took a starring role in MTV’s Video Music Awards.
Susan Bro, the mother of Heather Heyer, who was killed during the violence earlier this month in Charlottesville, Virginia, appeared during the ceremony to present the Best Fight Against the System, a category created this year to recognize music videos that embody activism and social justice.
She was introduced by the Rev. Robert Wright Lee, who said he was a descendent of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. The planned removal of a statue of Lee prompted the Charlottesville demonstration.
The younger Lee called racism “America’s original sin.” He said was working to “answer God’s call to confront racism and white supremacy” and sought inspiration from the Black Lives Matter movement, participants in January’s Women’s March and Heyer’s bravery for standing up for her beliefs.