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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are speaking out in a powerful new interview, warning that young people of color will be held back “as long as structural racism exists” in the U.K. and around the world.
Speaking to the Evening Standard in London as Black History Month begins in Britain, Harry talked about his “awakening” to the lack of opportunities for people of color since he met his wife Meghan.
“Because I wasn’t aware of so many of the issues and so many of the problems within the U.K. and also globally as well. I thought I did but I didn’t," he said over a Zoom call from the couple's new home in Santa Barbara, California.
“You know, when you go into a shop with your children and you only see white dolls, do you even think: ‘That’s weird, there is not a black doll there?’ And I use that as just one example of where we as white people don’t always have the awareness of what it must be like for someone else of a different colored skin, of a black skin, to be in the same situation as we are where the world that we know has been created by white people for white people," he said.
Evening Standard/Twitter Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
He continued, “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."
Evening Standard/Twitter Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
Looking happy and relaxed, the joint chat marked their first interview with a British outlet since they left the U.K. in March. The interview comes as the U.K. kicks off Black History Month. The couple also created a list of next-generation trailblazers for the outlet.
During the candid sit-down, Meghan, who wore a long-sleeved asymmetrical camel top with brown leather pants, and Harry also gave an insight into life at home with their son Archie — as their dog Guy made an adorable cameo!
“We are doing well. [Archie] is so good,” Meghan said. “We are very lucky with our little one. He is just so busy, he is all over the place. He keeps us on our toes. We are just so lucky.”
The Duke of Sussex/@SaveChildrenUK Meghan Markle and Archie
It has been a tumultuous year for the couple as they stepped down from their roles of senior working royals in March. After initially relocating to Canada, they settled in California in mid-March before finding a permanent home in the Montecito community of Santa Barbara.
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Since the killing of George Floyd earlier this year, the couple has become involved in the Black Lives Matter movement.
“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,” Meghan 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 recognize that. It is uncomfortable for us.”
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
They also talked about how they've been staying in touch with their causes in the U.K. amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“Everything has been through video, everything has been in a room, somewhere. Actually, it doesn’t matter where in the world we have been, we have stayed in touch with and supported the organizations as much as humanly possible," Harry said.
Meghan added, “We have all had to adapt to how we can have the most impact as possible within the constraints of what has happened with Covid-19. Like all of you, we are doing the best that we can and hoping that our passion and our commitment is still felt as it certainly hasn’t wavered.”
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
In addition to the interview, they also wrote down their thoughts in an article for the Evening Standard.
“For as long as structural racism exists, there will be generations of young people of color who do not start their lives with the same equality of opportunity as their white peers. And for as long as that continues, untapped potential will never get to be realized," they wrote.
