Meghan Markle recently spoke out about the Black Lives Matter movement in a speech to her alma mater, Immaculate Heart High School in Los Feliz, Los Angeles, during their virtual graduation ceremony.
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Speaking to the graduates, Markle explained her initial worries and hesitations around speaking out: "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 that it would get picked apart, and I realized, the only wrong thing to say is to say nothing."
"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 don't know," the Duchess of Sussex said.
She also gave an encouraging message to the graduates, focusing on their right to vote.
She 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 have ever been able to, because most of you are 18, or you're going to turn 18, so you're going to vote."
The Duchess continued, "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, vibrant, and open-minded as I know the teachings at Immaculate Heart are, I know you know that Black lives matter. You are equipped, you are ready, we need you, and you're prepared."
A source explained the decision to address the graduates about George Floyd and Black Lives Matter to BAZAAR.com: "She felt compelled to directly address and speak to these young women about what's happening in this country right now around the killing of George Floyd—as well as what's been happening over many, many years and many, many generations to countless other Black Americans."
The insider also explained how Meghan felt close to this cause: "This is something that is incredibly personal to Meghan, especially given everything she has experienced. And as a couple, it is, of course, very important. They are both feeling it, just like the rest of us."
