Women of Colour Everywhere Are Watching The World’s Reaction To Meghan Markle’s Interview.
The reactions to Meghan’s interview have been the loudest thing women, POC, anyone who has ever suffered from suicidal thoughts, anyone who Meghan’s story represented has ever heard. For her truth to be debated as if it was a conspiracy theory truly shows the sickening nature of people, especially the British press and journalist. Yes, Piers Morgan too. As he openly sat there, on what we now know was his last appearance on Good Morning Britain, saying “I don't have a racist bone in my body”. The sheer fact that he decided that it was his place to sit there and claim that Meghan did not experience racism during her time in the Royal Family was a racist act in and of itself. To further this, he even went on to say to Alex Beresford; “let's not make this personal”. The ability to say to a person of colour, “let’s not make this personal” when talking about racism means you do not even begin to understand that racism is as personal as it gets. The very existence of every person of colour is under attack as long as racism prevails and the fact that Piers Morgan cannot comprehend that means he was in no position at all to mutter a word about Meghan’s story.
As for women supporting women. The silence of Susanna Reid shattered windows it was that sharp. And that is the epitome of white feminism and white saviour complexes. Be an ally. Use your goddamn over-privileged voice in a room when someone not as privileged is having their racist experiences debated.
If you claim to be surprised by either the interview itself or the racist reactions that followed, you must've been living under a rock for the past 4 years. Every headline and every story in the tabloids has been fueled by racism. Meghan was held to an unrealistic standard that Kate never was. “It’s not always about race” is a common argument that's raised when people talk about the comparison between Meghan and Kate, but actually, it was about race. And that has been crystal clear. So if you can still sit there and deny that every inequality that Meghan and her son had to face in the Palace was fueled by racism, then I'm sorry to break this to you but you are probably a racist. But I'm sure you already knew that.
The abundance of memes that have been created from the interview is also disgusting. An interview where a woman of colour came through with her own painful experiences of suffering and racism to be turned into an online joke? They're not funny. They will never be funny. Black women continue to be the butt of peoples humour and jokes. The life that black women live and the things we have to experience are not there for people to turn into “comical” one-liners. Our existence deserves to be respected. Meghan’s story should've opened people’s eyes. It should not have become a joke. There is never anything funny about the continuous battles women of colour have to face. Our existence is painful. Stop treating it like a joke.
