Meghan Markle delivered a graduation speech for her former high school and spoke on the most recent cases of police brutality.
What We Know:
- “George Floyd’s life mattered, and Breonna Taylor’s life mattered, and Philando Castile’s life mattered, and Tamir Rice’s life mattered, and so did so many other people whose names we know and whose names we don’t know.”
- Those were some of the powerful words shared by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, that the 2020 graduating class of Immaculate Heart High School heard during a virtual ceremony speech on Wednesday evening. It was a surprise appearance. The young women did not know it was coming until the video was played at the end of the 2-hour ceremony.
- “For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been planning on saying a few words to you for your graduation, and as we all have seen over the past few weeks, what is happening in our country and in our state and in our hometown of L.A. has been absolutely devastating” she told the students. “And I wasn’t sure what I could say to you. I wanted to say the right thing. And I was really nervous that I wouldn’t or that it would get picked apart, and I realized, the only wrong thing to say is to say nothing.”
- Sharing her own memories of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, which she said were also triggered by a “senseless act of racism,” when construction worker Rodney King was violently beaten by LAPD officers, she added, “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 … I remember seeing men in the back of a van just holding guns and rifles. 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.”
- The Duchess was excited to be part of the IHHS graduation ceremony, but after recent events, Meghan knew there was no way she could speak to a group of compassionate, service-driven young women without addressing George Floyd and the racism that plagues the United States and the world. She hopes that her words provided a small bit of hope or comfort to the school community she cares about so deeply.
- A source close to Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan said, “This is something that is incredibly personal to Meghan, especially given everything she has experienced. And as a couple, it is, of course, very important. They are both feeling it, just like the rest of us.”
- “Harry and Meghan have been having private conversations with community leaders and people at every level, as well as friends and family, about this issue since the start of recent events,” a source said of the Sussexes’ recent efforts. “By speaking to as many people and organizations as possible, it has been a way for them to feel connected to everything that’s going on and learn more about the issues surrounding it.”
- Meghan has previously spoken about her experiences of racism and navigating life as a biracial woman. In 2016, Prince Harry released a statement condemning the British media’s treatment of Markle, saying that she had been “subject to a wave of abuse and harassment,” including “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.”
In January this year, the Sussexes announced that they were stepping back as senior royals, and the couple relocated with their young son Archie relocated to L.A. in March.
The Duchess of Sussex has spoken out following the protests over the death of George Floyd.
More on #BBCBreakfast and here: https://t.co/oUvwhHNQ3b pic.twitter.com/l0ePS0dwN5— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) June 4, 2020
