'George Floyd's life mattered': Meghan Markle calls US events 'absolutely devastating'

Meghan Markle spoke about the unrest prevailed in the United States over the death of African American George Floyd in police custody. Not only did she called the situation “absolutely devastating” but in a message recorded for the graduates of Immaculate Heart High School, she said, “George Floyd’s life mattered”. In the emotional message of at least five minutes, she apologised to the students for growing up in a world “where this is still present” while referring to racial discrimination. Meghan also said that even though it took some time for her to think about the “right thing” to say, she realised “only wrong thing to say is nothing”.

Death of the 46-year-old man, who has become the latest face of the the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, has rocked the entire United States with protests turning violent in major cities. While authorities in some areas have been forced to deploy curfews, others have called the National Guard to contain the situation. Speaking on the incident for the first time, the Duchess of Sussex mentioned other names who lost their lives to racism in the country including Breeonna Taylor, Philando Castile, Tamir Rice and added that their “life mattered”. 

“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,” Meghan began.

“And I realised the only wrong thing to say is 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.”

Watch Meghan's full message here:

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Meghan recalls 1992 LA riots

Meghan even remembered a piece of advice given to her by a teacher who said that “always remember to put another’s needs above your fears”. She mentioned that these words were the most thought of by her during these times. Apart from recalling a teacher’s advice, the Duchess of Sussex noted how Los Angeles was when the 1992 riots happened. Meghan noted that she was 11 or 12-year-old when she witnessed the outcome of “senseless acts of racism”.

Meghan said: “I was 11 or 12 years old and it was the LA riots, which was also triggered by senseless acts 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 billow out of building and seeing people running out of buildings and looting.

“I remember seeing men in the back of a van just holding guns and rifles. I remember pulling up at the house and seeing the tree that had always been there, completely charred. And those memories don’t go away.”

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