Meghan Markle reacts to George Floyd's death in powerful speech to students
4 June 2020, 10:52 | Updated: 4 June 2020, 10:58
The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, has broken her silence on George Floyd's death with a heartfelt speech.
Meghan Markle, The Duchess of Sussex, gave a heartfelt speech to L.A students on George Floyd’s life and Black Lives Matter.
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Markle, 38, delivered a video to students of Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles, where she is currently living with Prince Harry and their 1 yea-old son, Archie.
Meghan Markle tells High School 'George Floyd's life mattered'
She told the students that the mass protests against anti-black racism and police brutality have been ‘absolutely devastating’.
In a video of her virtual address, she said she was ‘nervous’ about addressing graduating pupils and speaking about the current events across the US but went on to name George Floyd and other African Americans who have been killed by the police.
She said: ‘I wasn’t sure what I could say to you. I wanted to say the right thing and I was really nervous that I wouldn’t or it would get picked apart, and I realised 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. ‘
The Duchess of Sussex added 'And so did so many other people whose names we know and whose names we do not know.’
During her passionate speech, she empowered students, directly telling them: ‘Now you get to be part of rebuilding, and I know sometimes people say “how many times do we need to rebuild?”'
She continued 'But you know what, we are going to rebuild and rebuild and rebuild until it is rebuilt. ‘Because when the foundation is broken, so are we.'
Motivating the students to make change, Markle said: ‘You are going to lead with love, you are going to lead with compassion, you are going to use your voice.
‘You are going to use your voice in a stronger way than you’ve ever been able to because most of you are 18, or you are turning 18, so you are going to vote.
‘You are going to have empathy for those who don’t see the world through the same lens that you do, because with as diverse and vibrant and open-minded as the teachings at Immaculate Heart are, I know you know that black lives matter.’
