Using their new political voices to enforce change, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have stood up for equal representation, with the Duke of Sussex even opening up about how he is recognising his own privilege.
Appearing in a rare joint interview for London’s Evening Standard, the couple opened up about their personal experiences with racism in time for the United Kingdom’s Black History Month, starting on October 1.
Writing a joint article for the publication, the couple expressed their concerns for how structural racism will effect young people of colour, especially in the United Kingdom.
“For as long as structural racism exists, there will be generations of young people of colour who do not start their lives with the same equality of opportunity as their white peers,” they wrote. “And for as long as that continues, untapped potential will never get to be realised.”
They added: “For people of colour and specifically for young Black Britons, the importance of representation in all parts of society, of seeing role models that share the same colour skin as them and seeing and reading stories of success and of hope from those who look like them, is absolutely vital in opening doors of opportunity.”
Along with the article, the pair took to Zoom for an interview with the same publication, where Harry revealed his awakening to his own white privilege and sympathised with how it must feel for people of colour to live in a world “created by white people for white people”.
“I’ve had an awakening as such of my own,” he admitted. “I wasn’t aware of so many of the issues and so many of the problems within the U.K., but also globally as well. I thought I did—but I didn’t.”
He added, “It is not about pointing the finger, it is not about blame. I will be the first person to say, again, this is about learning. And about how we can make it better. I think it is a really exciting time in British culture and British history, and in world culture. This is a real moment that we should be grasping and actually celebrating. Because no one else has managed to do this before us.”
Marking the first day of Black History Month in the United Kingdom, the Duke and Duchess also opened up about the recent Black Lives Matter protests. Opening up about the effects of the protests, Markle said: “[They have been] inflammatory for a lot of people”.
“But when there is just peaceful protest and when there is the intention of just wanting community and just wanting the recognition of equality, then that is a beautiful thing.”
Concluding, she said: “While it has been challenging for a lot of people certainly having to make this reckoning of historical significance that has got people to the place that they are, that is uncomfortable for people.”
“We recognise that. It is uncomfortable for us.”
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