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Meghan Markle Recalls Once Hearing Someone Call Mom Doria the N-Word in Resurfaced Video on Racism
Meghan Markle revealed she once witnessed someone call mom Doria Ragland the N-word. The former Suits actress opened up about the experience while sharing her thoughts on racism for a campaign video from 2012 that resurfaced in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
“Some of the slurs that I’ve heard or the really offensive jokes, or the names, it’s just hit me in a really strong way,” the 37-year-old said in the clip that was shared by a fan account in 2019.
The former Duchess of Sussex said hearing “someone call my mom the N-word” was extremely difficult. “I think for me, beyond being personally affected by racism, just to see the landscape of what our country is like right now, and certainly the world … [I just] want things to be better,” she added at the time.
Meghan, while wearing a T-shirt that read “I won’t stand for racism,” explained how racial injustice affects her as a bi-racial woman.
“Most people can’t tell what I’m mixed with and so much of my life has felt like being a fly on the wall,” Meghan said. “Certain people don’t look at me and see me as a black woman. They treat me differently, I think, than they would if they knew what I was mixed with.”
The former Deal or No Deal model, who shares 13-month-old son Archie with husband Prince Harry, also touched on experiences she had with racism after landing Suits in 2011. At the time, Meghan left her family and moved to Toronto for filming.
“Leaving L.A. was sort of like leaving this bubble where I was used to everything, and had been exposed to everything except for a closed-mindedness that I experienced when I traveled outside of where I was from,” she noted. “And I think that in doing that, it just really opened my eyes to a mentality that still exists that I thought was backdated to the days of when my grandfather [was around].”
Despite her frustration, the Smart Works patron expressed how grateful she was for mom Doria’s African American roots, as well as dad Thomas Markle, who is white.
“I am really proud of my heritage on both sides,” she gushed. “I’m really proud of where I’ve come from and where I’m going. But yeah, I hope that by the time I have children, that people are even more open-minded to how things are changing and that having a mixed world is what it’s all about. I mean certainly, it makes it a lot more beautiful and a lot more interesting.”
Following the death of George Floyd, many stars took to social media to demand justice and support the Black Lives Matter movement. While Meghan has yet to make any comments on the current countrywide protests, Queen Elizabeth‘s Commonwealth Trust, which Meghan and Harry still oversee by connecting with young leaders around the world, offered their thoughts on Twitter.
“Young people are vital voices in the fight against injustice and racism around the world,” the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust tweeted on June 1. “As a global community of young leaders we stand together in pursuit of fairness and a better way forward. Silence is not an option.”
