Harry and Meghan urge action on ‘wrongs of the past’
THE DUKE and Duchess of Sussex have called for a renewed campaign to promote equal rights as the problems of injustice and racism have been brought into sharp focus.
Harry and Meghan both took part in the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust video call which formed one of the network’s weekly sessions set up in response to the growing Black Lives Matter movement.
The death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black American, in Minneapolis in May prompted the movement, which has seen protests across the globe. Four white police officers have been charged in connection with his death.
The Duke, who last week outlined his personal commitment to tackling institutional racism, warned that past wrongs needed to be acknowledged across the Commonwealth in order to move forward, while Meghan said people needed to push through an “uncomfortable” phase towards equality.
The couple, who were speaking from Los Angeles, joined Chrisann Jarrett, the cofounder of We Belong, which is led by young people who migrated to the UK, and Alicia Wallace, director of Equality Bahamas.
Also on the online chat were Mike Omoniyi, the founder of The Common Sense Network, and Abdullahi Alim, who leads the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers.
The Duke told them: “When you look across the Commonwealth, there is no way that we can move forward unless we acknowledge the past.
“So many people have done such an incredible job of acknowledging the past and trying to right those wrongs, but I think
we all acknowledge there is so much more still to do.
“It’s not going to be easy and in some cases it’s not going to be comfortable, but it needs to be done, because, guess what, everybody benefits.”
Meghan spoke of how equality was a fundamental human right, and added: “Equality does not put anyone on the back foot, it puts us all on the same footing – which is a fundamental human right.”
After the Duke and Duchess stepped down as senior working Royals, Harry had to leave his role as Commonwealth Youth Ambassador. But Harry and Meghan retained their posts as president and vice-president of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust.
Harry told those taking part in yesterday’s event: “The optimism and the hope that we get is from listening and speaking to people like you, because there is no turning back now, everything is coming to a head.”