Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Led a Black Lives Matter Discussion for the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry joined young Black leaders and activists to discuss equal justice in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. The conversation was through The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust – the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are the President and Vice President.
According to the website, the conversation included, "Chrisann Jarrett, QCT Trustee, and co-founder and co-CEO of We Belong; Alicia Wallace, director of Equality Bahamas; Mike Omoniyi, founder and CEO of The Common Sense Network; and Abdullahi Alim the leader of the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers network of emerging young leaders in Africa and the Middle East."
In the conversation, which took place over Zoom, the group spoke about racism and the need for justice. “We can’t deny or ignore the fact that all of us have been educated to see the world differently," Prince Harry said. "However, once you start to realize that there is that bias there, then you need to acknowledge it, you need to do the work to become more aware so that you can help stand up for something that is so wrong and should not be acceptable in our society today.”
Markle then highlighted how racism is not always blatant and can happen in subtle ways. “It’s not just in the big moments, it’s in the quiet moments where racism and unconscious bias lies and thrives. It makes it confusing for a lot of people to understand the role that they play in that, both passively and actively," she explained.
After discussing the need for active change through allyship, compassion, and opportunity, Prince Harry added that there also needs to be better recognition of the problems. “When you look across the Commonwealth, there is no way that we can move forward unless we acknowledge the past…and guess what, everybody benefits,” he said. Markle added, “We’re going to have to be a little uncomfortable right now because it’s only in pushing through that discomfort that we get to the other side of this and find the place where a high tide raises all ships. Equality does not put anyone on the back foot, it puts us all on the same footing, which is a fundamental human right.”
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This is not the first time the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have spoken out about Black Lives Matter. In early June, Markle posted an emotional speech about the movement for graduates of the class of 2020. “I realized the only wrong thing to say is to say nothing," Markle said. "Because George Floyd’s life mattered and Breonna Taylor’s life mattered and Philando Castile’s life mattered and Tamir Rice’s life mattered.”
The couple is also reportedly supporting anti-hate speech boycotts of Facebook and Instagram.