Meghan Markle spoke about her direct experiences with racism in a resurfaced PSA video
A 2012 PSA from Meghan Markle has resurfaced on social media amid the George Floyd protests seeking justice for his death by police. In the video, filmed almost a decade ago, Markle opens up about her experiences with racism and her hopes for the diminishment of racial tensions within the United States by the time she becomes a mother. Sadly, Markle has yet to see her wish fulfilled, as her own recent experiences have shown.
The PSA was filmed on behalf of Erase the Hate’s “I Won’t Stand For…” campaign. Markle filled in the blank with “racism,” and she spoke out about her first-hand accounts with racism in North America.
“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,” the then-Suits star said in the PSA. “And so some of the slurs I’ve heard or the really offensive jokes, or the names, it’s just hit me in a really strong way.”
She continued, “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, certainly the world, and to want things to be better.”
Meghan Markle in 2012 for USA Network’s “Characters Unite ‘I Won’t Stand For____’” campaign.
Her’s was racism and it is what I won’t stand for either. pic.twitter.com/Xjy04KON9i
— BLACKLIVESMATTER (@Jasamgurlie) April 3, 2020
Markle said that it wasn’t until she left Los Angeles that she became really aware of the “close-mindedness” of so many in regards to race. That close-mindedness followed her across the pond when she married into the royal family.
In comparison to her sister-in-law Kate Middleton, Markle was bashed by the British media for nearly everything she did, with Prince Harry calling out inherent racism behind the attacks.
“I thought that [close-mindedness] was really isolated to those days that we were past, and sadly they’re not,” Markle said in the PSA.
“I am really proud of my heritage on both sides,” Markle continued. “I’m really proud of where I’ve come from and where I’m going…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.”
Of course, since the PSA aired, Markle also gave birth to her son, Archie.
Markle’s PSA, among so many other things, illuminates just how far we still have to go. If you want to support anti-racism causes, there are many ways to help, including donating, signing petitions, protesting, writing to your representatives, speaking up, and more. Check out this list of ways to help for a start.
