MEGHAN MARKLE'S FIGHT AGAINST RACISM, A LOST OPPORTUNITY FOR THE BRITISH CROWN
The fact that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have relocated their new residence in the United States, specifically in Los Angeles, allows them to experience very closely the movement that, under the motto Black Lives Matter, is sweeping the entire country. George Floyd's death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer has sparked a wave of protests from people calling for justice for the African-American American. Among the causes supported by the Duchess of Sussex, such as feminism or the defense of the end of the hunt, is also the fight against racism. Undoubtedly, the events that have occurred in the last days in your country of birth will have inspired some action on your part that we still do not know about.
The famous actress from the Suits series has spoken out numerous times in the past against racial discrimination and for the civil rights of all people. Among all the viral videos that circulate on social networks during these days and that have as a common factor the injustices that occur during the protests, one of Meghan Markle's dating from 2012 draws a lot of attention, in which she speaks openly about hopes that he had then for the lives of his future children and his love for Los Angeles.
In the video, the Duchess appears wearing a T-shirt that reads: "I will not tolerate racism." After introducing herself and highlighting the importance of joining a cause like that, Meghan explains one of the reasons she joins it: “I think it really is personal to me. I am biracial ”, and she goes on to explain that during her life she has felt a“ fly on the wall ”. She also recounts how she herself has seen racism with her own eyes and how offensive jokes or the fact that her own mother had been called by the “N word” have affected her - the word 'nigger' is used in a derogatory way in the United States as a serious insult to the African American population.
Markle continues to explain throughout the video the way in which leaving Los Angeles opened her eyes and made her see all the way to go and the exaggerated racism that exists in other areas of the United States and the world, that she he believed that it belonged only to earlier times. “I am very proud of the heritage that I have on both sides (...). But yes, I hope that by the time I have children people will have a more open mind to how things are changing and that what it is about is to have a mixed world. That undoubtedly makes it much more beautiful and interesting ”, he ends up manifesting in the video.
By way of personal confession, the actress wrote a letter in 2017 to the American version of Elle magazine in which she recounted how she had sometimes felt like “another” person different from the others. The then-fiancee of Prince Harry relived a situation she suffered at school, where she came face to face with a personal form in which she was urged to cross the box for 'Caucasian'. “I put down my pen. Not as a defiant act, but as a symptom of my confusion. I couldn't get to do that, imagine how sad my mother would feel if she found out. So I didn't check any boxes. I left my identity blank - a question mark, an incomplete absolute - something very similar to what I felt ”.
The racism that Meghan Markle has suffered throughout her life did not stop when she joined the British royal family. The institution is, for many, still anchored in the most damaging prejudices, which came to beat the Duchess of Sussex in the most cruel way. This was stated by journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown in an interview with the US version of Vanity Fair. “This - United Kingdom - is a very racist country. In America, racism is not qualitatively better, but at least no one denies that it exists ”, explained the journalist.
Alibhai-Brown, of British-Ugandan origin, has written several books on British mestizos and is a benchmark on racism; That is why his judgment on Meghan's ignorance of the situation she was entering when she began her relationship with Prince Harry was of great relevance. “Most Americans have idyllic images of this country from movies like Notting Hill… and they have seen the gardens and palaces. But they have never known the underbelly of Britain. "The journalist was also interviewed on a ViceTV program, Meghan Markle: Escaping the Crown, aired last March in which they analyzed the reasons why Meghan and Harry had 'fled' from Britain.
When news of the courtship between Meghan Markle and Prince Harry hit the press, the actress was not left out of the scrutiny of the ruthless tabloids and received numerous attacks of racist overtones. As a result, on November 8, 2016, Kensington Palace was forced to issue an unusual official statement at Harry's request to protect Meghan. An unprecedented gesture in the history of the British monarchy, which for the first time spoke about the sentimental partner of one of its members. "A line has been crossed," the statement began. “Meghan Markle has been the target of a wave of abuse and harassment,” he continued, and later listed the offenses committed against her: “a slander on the front page of a national newspaper; racial nuances in some opinion articles and outright sexism and racism by some social media trolls and comments on online articles ... "
The words came after the newspaper The Sun incorrectly identified Meghan as a porn star and published a Daily Mail article titled "Straight Outta Compton" (straight from Compton), regarding one of the areas of greatest Los Angeles crime rate. “Prince Harry is concerned for the safety of Miss Markle and is very disappointed that he was unable to protect her. This is not a game, it is her life and her, "the statement said.
In fact, the attacks did not come only from the press, but also the citizens themselves. During a live broadcast by the BBC in which the SkyNews program interviewed the couple on the occasion of their engagement, the public was quick to throw comments against Meghan, including some such as: "Jungle Fever" - a disqualifying form of refer to a couple made up of people of different skin color - "gold digger", "biracial commoner", "the whitest black girl" or simply "inappropriate".
In relation to everything that happened, the journalist Alibhai-Brown explained in the program about Meghan aired on ViceTV that some Britons consider “contaminating the blood line” by the fact that a person of color marries a member of the royal family. “If the queen had said at some point, in her own way, 'hey guys, this is my grandson and his wife. They just got married. Get away and let them build their own lives', the hounds would have retired. But it never did. And it still hasn't. I think it's unforgivable because it is actually she who has that power. They absolutely adore her in that country, ”he added.
But Meghan Markle has never stood idly by. She has also struggled to see improvement in a situation that she has experienced in the first person. The great loudspeaker that she already had when she was an actress - and that she already used to fight for causes most closely related to her person - was considerably amplified when she became part of the British royal family. Since then, Markle's voice has reached all corners of the world and with it she has continued to transmit countless messages.
During her state visit to South Africa last September, the Duchess of Sussex did not forget her roots and conveyed her warmth to the population with her words: “Allow me to say that even though I am here with my husband as a member of the royal family, I want you to know that for me, I am here with you as a mother, as a wife, as a woman, as a woman of color and as your sister ”, a message that went around the world because of its forcefulness. During the visit, Markle even dared to join in a traditional dance, invited by a group of female dancers from the country. Her image was also historic in September 2018 with Prince Harry and his mother Doria Ragland in the gardens of Kensington Palace. to honor the women affected by the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire, many of them of immigrant origin.
