'I hope that by the time I have children that people are even more open-minded to how things are changing and that having a mixed world is what it’s all about.'
The brutal killing of George Floyd last week has prompted worldwide protests against racism and calls for equality.
At the forefront of the Black Lives Matter protests are high profile figures, from Lizzo, Barack Obama and Taylor Swift to Beyonce, Pink and royal family members.
The Commonwealth Trust, ran by Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and The Queen, shared a statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement this week.
Young people are vital voices in the fight against injustice and racism around the world. As a global community of young leaders we stand together in pursuit of fairness and a better way forward.
Silence is not an option.#BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/PyFlfGvbhN
— The Queen's Commonwealth Trust (@queenscomtrust) June 1, 2020
It was a resurfaced video of Meghan Markle speaking out against racism however that went viral.
The 2012 throwback video sees Meghan wearing a t-shirt with the slogan, ‘I won’t stand for racism’, speaking out against racist hate and expressing her hopes that her future children will be born into a more accepting world.
‘My name’s Meghan Markle and I’m here because I think it’s a really important campaign to be a part of,’ Meghan announces to camera in the video. ‘For me, I think it hits a really personal note. I’m biracial, 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. And then, you know, a couple of years ago I heard someone call my mom 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.
She continues: ‘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. 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 a struggle as much as it can be a good thing depending on the people that you’re dealing with.
‘Leaving L.A. was sort of like leaving this bubble where I was used to everything and had been exposed to everything except for a closed-mindedness that I experienced when I traveled outside of where I was from. And I think that in doing that, it just really opened my eyes to a mentality that still exists that I thought was backdated to the days of when my grandfather moved our family from Cleveland to L.A., and they drove across the country and to stop and get food, whatever kind of place they were going to, and they had to go round the back to get food for the family. You know, I thought that was really isolated to those days that we were past, and sadly, they’re not.’
Meghan concludes: ‘I am really proud of my heritage on both sides, I’m really proud of where I’ve come from and where I’m going. But, yeah, I hope that by the time I have children that people are even more open-minded to how things are changing and that having a mixed world is what it’s all about. I mean certainly, it makes it a lot more beautiful and a lot more interesting.’
This is extremely powerful.
The post Meghan Markle speaks out against racism in a recently resurfaced video appeared first on Marie Claire.
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