Royal family says racism charges are ‘concerning’
Ashlyn Adams and Deanna Zachary will head the nonprofit as a team
Buckingham Palace said Tuesday that allegations of racism made earlier this week by Prince Harry and Meghan were “concerning” and would be addressed privately by the royal family.
The comments, made in a statement issued on behalf Queen Elizabeth II, are the first from the palace since a two-hour TV interview by Harry and Meghan rocked the royal family. Meghan, who is biracial, said the palace had failed to help her when she had suicidal thoughts and that an unidentified member of the royal family had raised “concerns” about the color of her baby’s skin when she was pregnant with her son, Archie.
“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan,” the palace said. “The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.”
The interview, which aired Sunday night in the U.S. and a day later in Britain, has divided people around the world. While many say the allegations demonstrate the need for change inside a palace that hasn’t kept pace with the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements, others have criticized Harry and Meghan for dropping their bombshell while Harry’s 99-year-old grandfather, Prince Philip, remains hospitalized in London after a heart procedure.
While the palace often tries to stay above controversy by remaining silent and riding out the storm, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s charges proved so damaging that the family was forced to respond.
The response was likely delayed by the queen’s struggle to balance her sometimes-conflicting roles as monarch and grandmother, said Angela Levin, author of “Harry, a Biography of a Prince.” Yet she said there’s little doubt that ultimately the 94-year-old monarch will make her decision based on what’s best for the 1,000-year-old institution she has led since 1952.
“Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members,” the statement said.
During the interview, Meghan described feeling so isolated and miserable inside the royal family that she had suicidal thoughts, yet when she asked for mental health help from the palace’s human resources staff she was told she was not a paid employee. She also said a member of the royal family had expressed “concerns” to Harry about the color of her unborn child’s skin.
Winfrey later said Harry told her off camera that the family member wasn’t Queen Elizabeth II or Prince Philip, sparking a flurry of speculation about who it could be.
Harry also revealed the stresses the couple endured had ruptured relations with his father, Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, and his brother, Prince William, illuminating the depth of the family divisions that led the couple to step away from royal duties and move to California last year.
Prince Charles didn’t comment on the interview Tuesday during a visit to a vaccine clinic in London.
SANTA CRUZ >> Ashlyn Adams and Deanna Zachary have been named the Santa Cruz County’s Diversity Center’s new co-directors. The local nonprofit serves the Santa Cruz LGBTQ+ community members.
Both Adams and Zachary enter into their interim leadership roles after years of serving the center in different capacities. The duo said their immediate goals include opening up outdoor education programs for Santa Cruz’s LGBTQ+ youth, as well as furthering efforts to reach Watsonville’s queer community. Adams and Zachary also aim to increase efforts to serve bi and pansexual community members, and LGBTQ+ seniors, particularly those living in retirementhome settings.
The COVID-19 pandemic, Adams said, has taken a toll on the center’s clientele, particularly on local queer youth.
“For a lot of people this has basically been the end of the world,” Adams said. “We had to change and upgrade all our services to meet the big need.”
The center has documented an up-tick in its clients being hospitalized for mental health crises.
“So we’re really digging in, trying to get mental health services to kids, and people, whether they have MediCal or not, whether they are under or over 18, because it’s a huge need like I have not seen before,” Adams said.
The Diversity Center has also been giving out COVID emergency grants, as well as amping up its food delivery program.
Zachary said the center is currently recruiting for a South County — Latinx Outreach Coordinator. The co-directors hope to serve a greater population in the Watsonville region.
“Our first order of business is to hire a Spanish speaking person who can do outreach to the Latinx community,” Zachary said. “We’re also working on getting another office in Watsonville, so we can do a better job of reaching the Spanish-speaking Latinx LGBTQ community.”
The leadership duo also said, once it is safe to do so, holding community events outdoors, safely, is a priority for the nonprofit and the clientele.
“We’ll be moving to more in-person things as more folks get vaccinated,” Zachary said. “We’re starting with outdoor education for folks who are in the youth program. And we’ll move from there and figure out how we can continue to offer both virtual and in-person.”
The Diversity Center’s new office is on Soquel Avenue.
“Our mission is to advocate for, support and celebrate the LBTQ plus community,” Adams said. “Having this building especially, in a post-COVID world, allows us to engage with more kinds of people and also just celebrate, lots of different facets of this community that don’t get talked about.”