During a surprise online high school commencement speech, Meghan Markle broke her silence and spoke frankly about the death of George Floyd and the protests that his death have spawned.
Students of Immaculate Heart – the Duchess’ alma mater – did not know that Markle was scheduled to give a 5-minute address albeit virtually. After receiving a warm welcome from the graduates, she began to speak on the topic of race that is all too familiar for her who grew up in a biracial family in California.
The 38 year old Duchess of Sussex said that it was impossible for her to not talk about the death of Floyd as it has been dominating the news for nearly 10 days. She said that she felt “devastated” about what was taking place in her hometown of Los Angeles and California.
Along with Floyd, she also mentioned the names of other victims of reported police brutality such as Breonna Taylor, Philando Castile and Tamir Rice. Meghan also acknowledged that there will be many more names who never caught the news and thus are not remembered.
With teary eyes, she said that she was first and foremost sorry for the students that her generation failed to resolve this centuries old issue and had to make them go through this news cycle.
Referring back to her personal history, she recalled her earlier memories of the LA riots that took place in 1992 after Rodney King was beat by the police. Her husband Harry and their 1 year old son Archie currently reside in her hometown of LA.
Saying that she was either 11 or 12 when the riots happened in LA, Markle said that she remembered the curfews and the smoke that surrounded her from the buildings that caught fire. She said she also remembered people firing rifles from the cars and a big old tree that was completely burnt down.
The Duchess said that those are memories that stay with you no matter how much time has passed. She once again apologized that her generation and other adults failed to make the world a better place, with history repeating itself almost 30 years later.
It must be a complicated and emotional issue for Meghan, who previously shared her own experiences with racism. Share your thoughts on this story in the comments, and be sure to follow us on Facebook for more news like this one.
Replaced!