The Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle and Prince Harry moved to Markle's hometown of Los Angeles in 2019. Markle's return to the states has been marred by acts of racial injustice and a series of uprisings. During a virtual summit on Friday, Markle describes being met with this social despair as "devastating."
"To come back and to just see this state of affairs, I think at the onset, if I'm being honest, it was just devastating. It was so sad to see where our country was in that moment," she said to the co-founder and CEO of nonprofit The 19th*, Emily Ramshaw.
Although the unrest sparked by the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and more have shown the world America's ever-present racist underbelly, Markle explains that he was inspired by the way citizens reacted. She feels like the peaceful protests allowed frustrated citizens to be seen.
"If there's any silver lining in that, I would say that in the weeks after the murder of George Floyd, in the peaceful protests that you were seeing, in the voices that were coming out, in the way that people were actually owning their role... it shifted from sadness to a feeling of absolute inspiration, because I can see that the tide is turning," she said before explaining that this exercising for the First Amendment was the best way to welcome her home.
"From my standpoint, it’s not new to see this undercurrent of racism and certainly unconscious bias, but I think to see the changes that are being made right now is really — it's something I look forward to being a part of," Markle said. "And being part of using my voice in a way that I haven’t been able to of late. So, yeah, it’s good to be home."
Markle and Prince Harry stepped down from their royal duties earlier this year. They now live in Santa Barbara with their 1-year-old son, Archie. Since coming to the states, Markle and Prince Harry have been active in the community, contributing to several causes like COVID-19 relief efforts.
