Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are celebrating Black History Month in the UK by highlighting changemakers who are helping to improve race relations across the pond. Appearing in their first video interview with a British paper since leaving the UK and royal life earlier this year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex spoke to the
Evening Standard about why it’s important to them to support the Black Lives Matter movement with their new project.Harry and Meghan launched the Black History Month Next Gen Trailblazers campaign on October 1, which marks the start of Black History Month in the UK. The
list includes people nominated by the Duke and Duchess, as well as other members of the Black community in the UK. Meghan and Harry’s list features several notable Black Britons, including rugby player Maro Itoje, Olympic boxer Nicola Adams, Booker prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo and
Vogue editor Edward Enninful, who worked with Markle on her groundbreaking edition of the famous fashion magazine.
"I've had an awakening as such of my own, because I wasn't aware of so many of the issues and so many of the problems within the UK, but also globally as well. I thought I did but I didn't,” Harry told ES reporters in a video interview filmed from the couple’s new home in Santa Barbara.Citing an example of white privilege while shopping for toys, Harry said that he is working on improving his awareness of systemic racism in daily life. “You know, when you go in to 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 coloured 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,” said Harry.
The Duke continued, saying that he thought he understood systemic racism in the UK and US, but now realizes that he has much more to learn. “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. And about how we can make it better. I think it is a really exciting time in British culture and British history, and in world culture,” continued Harry. “This is a real moment that we should be grasping and actually celebrating. Because no one else has managed to do this before us.”When asked about their thoughts on the current globalization of the Black Lives Matter movement in both the UK and the US, Markle took the opportunity to celebrate the recent efforts by organizers and participants. “The impetus is really about reminding people of your worth,” said Markle. “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. While it has been challenging for a lot of people — certainly having to make this reckoning of historical significance that has gotten people to the place that they are — that is uncomfortable for people. And we recognize that. It is uncomfortable for us.”While many protests in the US have erupted in violence at the hands of police and alt-right groups, Markle urged people to remember the inspiration for the current Black Lives Matter globalization, which at its core is to create a society where all citizens are equal. “When we just focus on the uplift and positivity of that while still acknowledging the path, that’s when we reshape things,” said Markle. “And that shouldn’t be inflammatory at all. That should be really exciting.”[video_embed id='2046240']RELATED: Meghan Markle talks protests and politics at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women summit[/video_embed]
