Meghan Markle speaks out over the death of George Floyd in America

The Duchess of Sussex addressed a virtual graduation for her former high school, Immaculate Heart


Entertainment Desk June 04, 2020

As America deals with widespread protests following the death of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, the Duchess of Sussex has also spoken out, reported Independent.

Virtually addressing graduating students at her former high school, Immaculate Heart, in Los Angeles, Markle delivered a five-minute long address in which she described recent events in US as “absolutely devastating”.

"I wanted to say the right thing. 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," she said.

She also mentioned how the lives of "so many others" whose names we don't know mattered. She then went on to reference one of her teacher's saying that helped her gather courage in her life.

"One of my teachers, Ms. Pollia, said to me, ‘always remember to put other’s needs above your own fears. That has stuck with me throughout my entire life and I have thought about it more in the last week than ever before,” she said.

Markle also looked back on her childhood experience of the Los Angeles riots of 1992 after four police officers filmed severely beating black taxi driver Rodney King, were acquitted of assault.

“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… I remember pulling up at the house and seeing the tree, that had always been there, completely charred. And those memories don’t go away.”

She then proceeded to end her address on a positive, optimistic note.

"We’re seeing people stand in solidarity, we are seeing communities come together and to uplift. You are going to be part of this movement," she said.

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