Meghan needn't have come to US to spearhead BLM protests, Britain has its own racism problem: Royal expert
After a friend of Meghan claimed that the Duchess believed she was "destined" to help fight systemic racism in the US, royal expert Peny Junor criticized the sentiment by saying that she did not have to move overseas in order to do that as "racism is a problem" in England too.
"I am sure she is very genuine in her desire to contribute in some major way to the anti-racism movements. It is something she has spoken about repeatedly over the years, long before she came into the British royal family, and given the profile she now has as Duchess of Sussex, I think she could be a very effective campaigner/leader. But I think she could have done that in Britain — and as a working member of the royal family. Racism is a problem here too," Junor, the royal biographer who has authored books like 'Diana, Princess of Wales' (1982), 'Charles, Prince of Wales' (1987 and 1998) and 'Charles and Diana: Portrait of a Marriage' (1991), told MEA WorldWide (MEAWW).
It was previously reported that an insider close to Meghan said that her "gnawing urgency to uproot from England" was nothing but fate so she could be at the "forefront" of the movement, the insider explained. "Meghan said her work as a leader is more important than ever right now and that she’s been speaking with Oprah and other community leaders on how she can be part of the solution. Meghan feels like her mission goes far beyond acting. She said she wants to use her voice for change and hasn’t ruled out a career in politics," the insider said.
We also asked Junor how Meghan could cash in on the current racially charged environment of the country, following the death of George Floyd in police custody, to establish herself as a Black Lives Matter icon. "I thought her speech to her old school was very powerful and she could perhaps do more of that. She has the profile, she could speak on any platform she wanted," Junor replied.
Junor was alluding to Meghan addressing graduating pupils at her old school Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles, earlier this month. The mother-of-one explained in the six-minute-long virtual speech released to black women's lifestyle magazine Essence why she decided to keep quiet in the days following the death of Floyd on May 25. "I wasn't sure what I could say to you. I wanted to say the right thing and I was really nervous that it would get picked apart. And I realized the only wrong thing to say is to say nothing," she said.
She named other African-Americans along with Floyd, who became victims of over-policing in the last six years. "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. Meghan urged the graduates to have "empathy for those who don't see the world through the same lens that you do," and use their "diverse, vibrant and opened minded" teachings to champion the movement of Black Lives Matter.
Meghan also shared a piece of advice from one of her teachers that she learned when she 15 years old. "I remember my teacher at the time, one of my teachers, Ms. Pollia, said to me as I was leaving for a day of volunteering, 'Always remember to put other's needs above your own fears'. And 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.