The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle has addressed the graduating class of her old high school, Immaculate Heart, LA. In a video covered for the virtual graduation ceremony for the class of 2020, Meghan Markle also spoke about the death of George Floyd.
She began her keynote with talking about the death of George Floyd and other African Americans who were killed in the US by police in recent years.
Here are some salient points from her speech:
1. What is happening in our country and in our state and in our hometown of LA. I wasn’t sure what I could say to you. I wanted to say the right thing. I realized 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 – and so did so many other people whose names we know and whose names we do not know.”
2. Always remember to put another’s needs above your fears. “I am sorry that in a way we have not gotten the world to a place that you deserve it to be”.
3. "I was 11 or 12 years old and it was the LA Riots, which was also triggered by a senseless act of racism… 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 billowing out of the building. I remember seeing men in the back of a van just holding guns and rifles. I remember pulling up the house and seeing the tree, that had always been there, completely charred. And those memories don’t go away."
4. Meghan encouraged the graduation class to use their positive energy to help combat racism. She says, “You’re going to use your voice in a stronger way than you have ever been able to because most of you are 18 – or you’re turning 18 — so you’re going to vote. You’re going to have empathy for those who don’t see the world through the same lens that you do. You’re ready. We need you and you’re prepared”.
