"George Floyd's Life Mattered": Meghan Delivers Powerful Message to Graduating Students

kitneper Temmuz 21, 2022

All over the world our lives have been thrown into disarray this year. As the force of COVID-19 swept country after country, our lives came to a halt as we strove to protect our loved ones, our families, our neighbours and those most vulnerable in our communities. We stood together becoming closer than ever by staying apart.

It struck me particularly some weeks ago as I hurried home and saw people stepping aside on the pavement to allow others to pass. This level of kindness hasn't always been prevalent during this pandemic, though on this particular day I saw how silently bonded we all were. On Monday, 25 May, another pandemic came to the fore on a global scale. This time it wasn't a virus, it wasn't something new or even something unprecedented. It was racism. The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis has devastated and horrified millions around the world. In a time when we were supposed to be looking out for one other, a police officer knelt on George Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes which led to his death. As images and videos circulated across social media that day, the horror, senselessness and brutality was laid bare for the world to see.

When the Duchess of Sussex was asked to speak at the graduating ceremony of her former school, Immaculate Heart High School in Los Felix, Los Angeles, she delivered a powerful, emotional and deeply-personal message on the devastation in the US right now, as well as recounting her own experiences. Meghan acknowledged her words would probably be "picked apart". She knows this as a matter of fact as she herself was subjected to ongoing racism in the UK from the day her relationship with Prince Harry became public knowledge. She knows this because UK journalists, commentators and publications continue to attack her and lay blame for anything they can dream up at her feet. She knows this, and yet, as she has done since she was 11 years old, Meghan continues to speak up for what is right - remembering the words her former teacher Ms Pollia told her when volunteering: "Always remember to put others' needs above your own fears."

The Duchess opened by telling students: "Immaculate Heart High School graduating class of 2020, for the past couple of weeks I've been planning on saying a few words to you for your graduation. What we have all seen over the last week, in our country and in our state, and in our hometown of LA has been absolutely devastating. 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 realised the only wrong thing to say is to say nothing; because, 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 do not know. Stephon Clark, his life mattered." Newsweek reports Meghan's words reduced students to tears.

More on Meghan's words from Newsweek:

'I was thinking about this moment when I was a sophomore in high school, I was 15 and as you know sophomore year is when you do volunteer work which is a prerequisite for graduating. And I remember my teacher at the time, one of my teachers, Ms Pollia said to me before I was leaving for a day of volunteering 'always remember to put others' needs above your own fears'.

"That has stuck with me throughout my entire life and I have thought about it more throughout the last week than ever before. So the first thing I want to say to you is that I'm sorry. I'm so sorry you have to grow up in a world where this is still present.

"I was 11 or 12-years-old when I was just about to start Immaculate Heart middle school in the fall and it was the L.A. riots, which was also triggered by a senseless act of racism. And 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. And seeing people run out of buildings carrying bags and looting. And I remember seeing men in the back of a van just holding guns and rifles. And 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. And I can't imagine that at 17 or 18-years-old, which is how old you are now, that you would have to have a different version of that same type of experience.

"That's something you should have an understanding of but an understanding of as a history lesson. Not as your reality. So I'm sorry that in a way we have not gotten the world to the place that you deserve it to be. The other thing though that I do remember about that time was how people came together. And we are seeing that right now, we are seeing that from the sheriff in Michigan or the police chief in Virginia. We are seeing people stand in solidarity, we are seeing Communities come together and to uplift and you are going to be part of this movement.

"I know that this is not the graduation that you envisioned. And this is not the celebration that you imagined. But I also know that there's a way for us to reframe this for you and to not see this as the end of something but instead to see this as the beginning of you harnessing all of the work, all of the values, all of the skills that you have embodied over the last four years. And now you channel that. Now all of that work gets activated. Now you get to be part of rebuilding and I know sometimes people say 'how many times do we need to rebuild?'

"But you know what, we are going to rebuild and rebuild and rebuild until it is rebuilt. Because when the foundation is broken so are we. You are going to lead with love, you are going to lead with compassion, you are going to use your voice. You are going to use your voice in a stronger way than you have ever been able to. Because most of you are 18 or you're going to turn 18 so you are going to vote.

"You are going to have empathy for those who don't see the world through the same lens that you do. Because, with as diverse and vibrant and open-minded as I know the teachings in Immaculate Heart are, I know you know that black lives matter. So I am already excited for what you are going to do in the world. You are equipped, you are ready, we need you and you are prepared.

"I am so proud to call each of you a fellow alumni and I'm so eager to see what you are going to do.

Please know that I am cheering you on all along the way. I am exceptionally proud of you and I'm wishing you a huge congratulations on today, the start of all of the impact you are going to make in the world as the leaders we all so deeply crave. Congratulations ladies and thank you in advance."

Omid Scobie reports for Harper's Bazaar revealing both Harry and Meghan have been having a number of meetings behind the scenes:

'A source close to the couple tells BAZAAR.com, "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."

Both Meghan and Prince Harry have been quietly having meetings behind the scenes with people on all levels to make sure they are educated and connected to the issues of police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement.

"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 tells BAZAAR.com 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."

The video was first shared with Essence, a monthly magazine which highlights and supports African-American women.

The Diana Award shared a quote and encouraged people to "use their voice".

The Queen's Commonwealth Trust of which the Duke and Duchess are president and vice-president praised Meghan's message of "hope and belief" and earlier this week shared this tweet:

Meghan has always used her profile to speak out against racism and injustice. You may have seen a video circulating from 2012 when the Duchess used her new-found profile starring in Suits to support the Erase the Hate campaign. Wearing a t-shirt with 'I Won't Stand for Racism' emblazoned on it, she said: "My name’s Meghan Markle and I’m here because I think it’s a really important campaign to be a part of. For me I think it really hits a personal note. I’m bi-racial, 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."

In a piece for Elle in 2015, Meghan recounted a night wher her mother was subjected to an appalling act of racism. "I was home in LA on a college break when my mom was called the 'N' word. We were leaving a concert and she wasn't pulling out of a parking space quickly enough for another driver. My skin rushed with heat as I looked to my mom. Her eyes welling with hateful tears, I could only breathe out a whisper of words, so hushed they were barely audible: 'It's OK, Mommy.' I was trying to temper the rage-filled air permeating our small silver Volvo. Los Angeles had been plagued with the racially charged Rodney King and Reginald Denny cases just years before, when riots had flooded our streets, filling the sky with ash that flaked down like apocalyptic snow; I shared my mom's heartache, but I wanted us to be safe. We drove home in deafening silence, her chocolate knuckles pale from gripping the wheel so tightly."

Meghan's words were heartfelt and sadly informed by her own experiences, witnessing racism her mother was subjected to, growing up during the LA riots and experiencing racism as the first bi-racial member of the Royal family. Her words of encouragement to young students whose generation can effect change and pave the way for the future are so important to hear. As Meghan so eloquently said, "we are going to rebuild and rebuild and rebuild until it is rebuilt".