Beyonce Brings ‘Mothers of the Movement’ to VMAs

When Beyoncé appeared on the red carpet before Sunday night’s MTV Video Music Awards, she brought several guests with her: Lezley McSpadden, Gwen Carr, Wanda Johnson and Sybrina Fulton — the mothers of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Oscar Grant and Trayvon Martin, respectively. All four men were murdered, with Brown, Garner and Grant dying at the hands of the police.

Beyoncé has appeared with several of these women before. In April, McSpadden, Carr and Fulton also showed up in the Lemonade video during the song “Freedom.” In July, the mothers appeared at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, where they voiced their support for Hillary Clinton.

Following her appearance on the red carpet, Beyoncé had a big night at the VMAs. She performed an explosive medley of tracks from Lemonade, won Best Female Video for “Hold Up” and took home Video of the Year honors for “Formation” — claiming victory in a stacked category that found her competing with the likes of Kanye West, Adele, and Drake. In addition, Lemonade nabbed the Moonman for Breakthrough Long Form Video.