Who is Meghan Markle?
Meghan Markle is an American actress and activist. She was born and lived in Los Angeles with her two parents; her father is white and her mother is black. Meghan takes pride in her mixed race and embraces where she’s come from. She is proudly the first member of her family to attend college. Meghan went to Northwestern University and studied International relations and theater; two majors she successfully pursued in later years.
Activism & Humanitarian Efforts
Meghan started off as a lifestyle blogger on her website www.thetig.com. In an interview with Larry King, she says because of the post she wrote about her outspoken beliefs regarding the inequality of women, the UN Women contacted her for a position. From there she became apart of UN’s branch UN Women and later a World Vision Global ambassador. As an ambassador, her mission is to help provide access to clean drinking water and in UN Women she fights for inclusiveness within leadership and fights for women to have a stronger voice.
Shockingly, Meghan’s activism didn’t begin with a blog post she made on her site but as a young child. During her speech at the United Nations conference on world women’s day in 2015, she told her endearing story about experiencing sexism for the first time in class. She recalled a little boy saying “girls belong in the kitchen," and she was made to feel less than (a feeling that didn’t sit well with her). On top of this, she witnessed a soap commercial with the slogan; "women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans." 11-year-old Meghan decided to take action and send a letter to the soap manufacturer, Hillary Clinton, Linda Ellerbee, and attorney Gloria Allred. These actions led to the slogan being changed from “women” to “people” and both Hillary Clinton and Gloria Allred wrote back to her. This experience fueled her passion to fight for equality and participate in humanitarian efforts.
As well as a very outspoken feminist and humanitarian, she has a background in acting. She’s been in films like Horrible Bosses and the hit TV-show Suits. She has, impressively, acted alongside Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, and Jamie Foxx. Although having success in her activism and acting, Meghan was never in the eye of media. That is until she started dating Prince Harry and speculation of engagements began to run amuck.
The Royal Family
Meghan has become the talk of the world due to recent engagement to Prince Harry. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been dating for a year and a half, and they just recently tied the knot! Although royal engagement holds a lot of pressure and responsibility compared to the average engagement, Meghan confidently accepted.
Before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's fairytale engagement, it wasn’t always smooth sailing for them. As media began to become more aware of Prince Harry and Meghan's relationship, media had a field day with it. Tabloids were making racist remarks towards Meghan due to her being mixed; the Daily Star Online said that Harry “could marry into gangster royalty — his new love is from a crime-ridden Los Angeles neighborhood." This was clearly a grotesque stereotype of African Americans and was just one of the many reports made against her character.
Despite the public’s initial criticism of Meghan, she proved herself to be everything but less than. In their post-engagement interview with CBC News, Prince Harry attests to this and assures the press that his family loves Meghan. He says that if his mother (Princess Diana) were still here today her and Meghan "would be as thick as thieves." In fact, Prince Harry says he gave her a ring that is "yellow/gold obviously cause it's her favorite and the main stone itself I saw from Botswana, and the little diamonds on either side are from my mother's jewelry collection. Making sure she's with us on this crazy journey together."
Setting the Precedent for Black Female Excellence
Meghan told a story at UN Women during her speech about inequality about how in seventh grade she had to check off black or white under her ethnicity and feeling uncomfortable in doing so. She felt as though she was choosing sides- either her mother or father. Her father told her “the next time that happens, create your own box." This story has the potential to inspire young ethnic girls to disregard the hatred and racism the world is going to throw at you and be proud of who you are.
Meghan did just that, and now she’s a humanitarian activist and soon to be a princess. She’s a living example of how one can create their own lane and reach their achievements. Just the sheer fact that Meghan has accepted the role as Princess is making history; she's the first black princess and she's shaking up the monarchy by integrating an African American figure into Britain’s upcoming history. Changes like this can come with a lot of backlashes, but Meghan took it all with grace and class. She has proven fit to hold her own when it comes to tabloids and media gossip. Despite what critics have to say about Meghan Markle- she’s proven to be a well-spoken, intelligent, and successful woman.
