Duchess Meghan has spoken publicly for the very first time about the intense race debate currently raging throughout her home country of the United States and around the world in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
Royal fans had been waiting for Meghan to comment on the anti-racism movement sweeping the globe, and now she has given her thoughts via a video message, shared with a Los Angeles all-girls high school – in fact Meghan’s alma mater – as part of their virtual high school graduation.
Speaking to the senior year students at Immaculate Heart High School, which she attended in the 1990s, the Duchess revealed feeling compelled to directly address what is happening in the US right now following the killing of George Floyd
“For the past couple of weeks I have been planning on saying a few words to you for your graduation, and as we’ve all seen happening over the past week is absolutely devastating. And I wasn’t sure what to say to you,” Meghan said.
“I wanted to say the right thing, and was really nervous that I wouldn’t and that it would get picked apart, and then I realised the only wrong thing to say is to say nothing. Because George Floyd’s life mattered.
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“And so do so many other people whose names we know and whose names we do not know,” Meghan said as she continued to list several other people who have lost their lives.
“I was thinking about this moment when I was a sophomore in high school. And as you know, sophomore year is a year we do volunteer work as a prerequisite for graduating. And I remember my teacher at the time said to me, ‘always remember to put others needs above your own fears’. And that has stuck with me throughout my entire life. But I’ve never thought about it more in the last week than I ever have before.
“So the first thing I want to say to you is that I am sorry. I am so sorry that you have to grow up in a world where this is still present. I was 11 or 12 years old when I was just about to start at school in the fall [autumn]. And it was the LA riots, which was also triggered by a senseless act of racism.”
She continued: “And I remember the curfew and I remember rushing back home and on that drive home seeing ash fall from the sky and smelling the smoke and seeing the smoke billow out of buildings and seeing people run out of buildings and seeing people looting and seeing a man in the back of a van holding guns and rifles, and I remember pulling up to the house and seeing the tree that had always been there completely charred. And those memories don’t go away.
“And I can’t imagine that at 17 or 18 years old, which is how old you are now, that you would have to have a different version of that same experience. That’s something that you should have an understanding of as a history lesson, not as a reality.
“So I’m sorry that we have not gotten the world to a place that you deserve it to be.”
Meghan’s passionate speech was part of an end-of-year address she gave to LA high school students.
(Image: Supplied)She added: “We are seeing people stand in solidarity and seeing communities together and to uplift. And you are going to be part of this movement. I know that this is not that graduation that you envisioned, and this is not the celebration that you imagined.
“Now you get to be part of the rebuilding… and we are going to rebuild and rebuild and rebuild until it is rebuilt. Because when the foundation is broken, so are we.
“You are going to lead with love, you are going to lead with compassion you are going to use your voice. You are going to use your voice in a stronger way that you’ve ever will do. Because most of you are turning 18 so you are going to vote.
“You are gong to have empathy for those who don’t see the world through the same lens as you do because it is diverse, and vibrant and open minded as I know the teachings at Immaculate Heart are. I know that Black Lives Matter.
“So I am already excited for what you are going to do in the world. You are equipped, you are ready, we need you and you are prepared. I am so proud to call each of you a fellow alumni and I am so eager to see what each of you do.”
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Meghan Markle has spoken out about the tense racial protests currently being staged throughout the US.
(Image: Getty)Meghan’s passionate speech comes just a day after an unearthed video of the Duchess speaking out about racism back in 2012 went viral online.
In the clip, filmed years before the former Suits actress met Prince Harry, Meghan spoke about the racist treatment she received as a biracial woman.
“For me, I think it hits a really personal note. I’m bi-racial, most people can’t tell what I’m mixed with and so much of my life has felt like being a fly on the wall. And so some of the slurs that I’ve heard or the really offensive jokes, or the names, it’s just hit me in a really strong way,” Meghan explained in the video.
“And then, you know, a couple of years ago I heard someone call my mum the N word. So I think for me, beyond being personally affected by racism, just to see the landscape of what our country is like right now, and certainly the world, and to want things to be better.”
WATCH BELOW: Meghan speaks out about racism in I Won’t Stand For Racism campaign video. Story continues after video.
Meghan went on to explain how she is often treated differently because people aren’t able to identify her racial background.
“Quite honestly, your race is part of what defines you. I think what shifts things is that the world really treats you based on how you look,” she said.
“Certain people don’t look at me and see me as a black woman or a biracial woman. They treat me differently, I think, than they would if they knew what I was mixed with, and I think that that is… I don’t know, it can be struggle as much as it can be a good thing depending on the people that you’re dealing with.”
Meghan filmed this video in 2012.
(Image: Instagram)It’s understood some of the racist treatment Meghan received at the hands of the British press was one of the reasons behind her and Prince Harry’s decision to step back as senior members of the royal family in March.
It’s a battle the couple have been fighting for years, throughout their entire relationship.
Back in 2016, when the pair first started dating, Harry released an extraordinary statement via a spokesperson, defending Meghan.
“His girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment… the smear on the front page of a national newspaper, the racial undertones of comment pieces’ and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments,” the statement said.
“Prince Harry is worried about Ms Markle’s safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her… This is not a game – it is her life and his.”
Race riots continue to sweep the US this week as thousands of protesters turned out across the nation to voice their anger at several African American deaths at the hands of police officers.
Protests are also happening around Australia with several scheduled for this weekend.
