Harry and Meghan were hailed for their action against racism. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were in New York on Tuesday night to attend a gala for the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (RFKHR) organization, which promotes human rights. They received the Ripple of Hope award (“wave of hope”), an award that rewards their investment against racial discrimination and their denunciation of mental health. Two commitments inseparable from his disputes with the royal family.
As reported by BBCThe royal couple announced in a press release the creation of a partnership between the RFKHR organization and its Archewell Foundation to create a new award, the Archewell Foundation Award for Gender Equity in Film Studies.
“Our hope is that this award will inspire a new generation of leaders in the arts, where diverse new talent enjoys an audience to have their voices heard and their stories told.”
“The values of the RFK Foundation and the Archewell Foundation are aligned in our shared values of the superiority of courage over fear, love over hate,” they continue. “Together, we know that a wave of hope can become a wave of change.”
denunciation of racism
Meghan and Harry, at odds with the royal family since leaving Buckingham to settle in California, have often denounced the racism Meghan has suffered from British tabloids… and within the monarchy. During her interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, the Duchess of Sussex mentioned in particular a royal family member’s reservations about the skin color of her unborn child when she was pregnant with Archie.
The RFKHR organization is chaired by Kerry Kennedy, one of the eleven children of Robert Kennedy, younger brother of President John Kennedy, who was also assassinated five years after his brother in 1968. Last November, he explained to the Spanish media The confidential why they had been chosen to receive this distinction. She had praised the “courage” they showed in standing up to “the oldest institution in UK history”, the British monarchy:
“They were told what they were doing wrong, that there could be no structural racism within the institution, that they couldn’t sustain a lack of understanding of mental health,” he said, she stated.
Et d’ajouter: “Ils savaient que s’ils agissaient ainsi, cela aurait des conséquences, qu’ils seraient ostracisés, qu’ils perdraient leur famille, la position qu’ils occupaient au sein de cette structure et que les gens les blameraient that’s why. […] I think they were heroic to do that.”
Faced with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan Markle had also mentioned her suicidal thoughts in the face of the relentlessness of the British media. Thus, the prize awarded by the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights organization also rewards Meghan and Harry’s speeches in favor of a better understanding of mental health. “That Meghan ventures on national television to normalize conversations about mental health (…) is incredibly important and very brave,” estimated Kerry Kennedy in the columns of the American magazine. Extrastill according to BBC.
Buckingham in crisis
The award comes as the royal family on the other side of the Atlantic faces new accusations of racism. An 83-year-old former bridesmaid, Susan Hussey, close to Elizabeth II for more than 60 years and godmother to Prince William, resigned last week after questions (“Where are you from in Africa?”, “Where are you from “Where do you really come from? Where do people like you come from?”), she asked a black feminist, Ngozy Fulani, at a reception in Buckingham on Tuesday night.
To this is added the Netflix documentary series on Meghan and Harry, the first part of which will premiere this Thursday, and which worries the monarchy that promises its share of gloomy revelations for the royal family.
During the gala, prizes were also awarded to Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky or former NBA player and civil rights activist Bill Russell. The evening was hosted by actor Alec Baldwin, the perpetrator of the accidental shooting that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the film’s set. Oxide in October 2021. He has assured from the outset that he did not pull the trigger. She reached an agreement with the victim’s family last October.
Source: BFM TV
