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Home • Celebrity

Dear Meghan, Now You Know The U.K.'s Deep Dark Secret

A British writer pens an open letter applauding the Duchess of Sussex's choice to live happily ever after on her terms
Dear Meghan, Now You Know The U.K.'s Deep Dark Secret
By Kelechi Okafor · Updated January 21, 2020

Dear Meghan,

When you were a little girl, did you, like me, wonder what happened after the princess married the prince? Did you think it would be what you’re currently experiencing? Probably not. Following the news of you moving to Canada with Harry and Archie, I want you to know that as a Black British woman, I get it.

When people think of Britain they often don’t think of racism. The conversation around race happens more openly in the USA. Racism in Britain is insidious. It festers just under the surface of literally every institution and system that we navigate but we hardly speak about it because in line with British sensibilities, it is simply impolite to talk of such things.

When it was announced you’d be marrying Harry, I wondered if absolutely anybody had talked to you about the history you’d be joining and the ways of a country you would call home. I kept thinking of that line from Ghost where Whoopi Goldberg’s character deadpans, “Molly, you in danger girl.” From your interview with Tom Bradby, it seems your British friends warned you, still you didn’t think it would be this bad. It’s a shame you had to see a glimmer of the racism Black people continue to face in Britain.

Meghan Markle Now Knows Just How Racist The U.K. Is To Black Women
TOPSHOT – Meghan Markle (R) and her mother, Doria Ragland, arrive for her wedding ceremony to marry Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, in Windsor, on May 19, 2018. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP) (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

I can’t imagine the frustration you’ve felt watching your integrity be questioned by people like Piers Morgan, who are hellbent on using dog whistle terminology to communicate their dislike of you which is inextricably linked to your proximity to Blackness. Oh yes, they pretend it’s nothing to do with race. They use cunning means claiming it’s the fact you’re an actress, or you’re American, or in some cases they flat out say they “it’s just something about you.” I wonder what that “something” is?

Probably that same “something” that led to our first Black female MP Diane Abbott receiving 45% of the hate mail sent to all female politicians. The tabloids and ignorant British public claim Abbott’s treatment isn’t “about race” either. They say they just think she’s “incompetent” even though her track record proves the stark opposite.

The very sophisticated nature of racism, and why it thrives in Britain, is that there’s a concerted effort (due to lack of accurate history being taught in schools) to ensure the public are perpetually unequipped to discuss race and racism. Whenever a blatantly racist incident happens, the media fall over themselves to organize inflammatory debates about whether that blatantly racist thing was in fact racist. It’s an elaborate game that the public are incapable of resisting.

Britain is so committed to her racism that she isn’t willing to give it up even if it means losing their princely darling Harry.

Kelechi Okafor

I feel sad for the British public really because you seemed rather nice in my opinion, and as much as I have my reservations about the monarchy due to its imperialist past and present, I think your presence could’ve actually helped their image. For a country so desperate to prove their “tolerance” of those deemed as other, embracing you would’ve been their chance to prove that they’re not in fact prejudiced and maybe the Black and brown people who have suffered for centuries because of their actions, might’ve just imagined it. Alas, Britain is so committed to her racism that she isn’t willing to give it up even if it means losing their princely darling Harry.

Meghan Markle Now Knows Just How Racist The U.K. Is To Black Women
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – JULY 24: Protesters from Stand Up To Racism demonstrate outside Stoke Newington police station on July 24, 2017 in London, England. Rashan Charles, 20, was chased into a shop by officers in Dalston on Saturday night. He was restrained on the floor and later died after apparently swallowing an object. PHOTOGRAPH BY Paul Davey / Barcroft Images London-T:+44 207 033 1031 E:[email protected] – New York-T:+1 212 796 2458 E:[email protected] – New Delhi-T:+91 11 4053 2429 E:[email protected] www.barcroftimages.com (Photo credit should read Paul Davey / Barcroft Media via Getty Images / Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

Black British women could see exactly what was really being said every time an article spoke about you in ways they would never speak about Kate Middleton for doing the exact same thing. Black British women like myself rallied together and spoke out on your behalf by going on the news, writing articles and highlighting your mistreatment on podcasts. When your son, Archie was compared to a baby chimpanzee literally hours after being born by a well known radio DJ, we refused for the incident to be swept under the rug despite all who were adamant it was just a harmless joke.

The neuroses of Whiteness manifests itself in Britain in various ways and one of the ways has been made clear since you and Harry have decided to spend less time in Britain. A lot of the British public are very accustomed to the racial violence inflicted on Black people to simply be tolerated. Any push back against racism in this country is met with furore and claims of “reverse racism” which we know doesn’t exist. The fact that you’ve shown your autonomy by choosing to distance yourself from the vitriol makes the dissenting British public and the media furious because, like Diana, they thought you would stick it out for the sake of your family and their “good” name.

We all know what happened to Diana and Black British women are glad you chose your happiness over their bloodlust.

Meghan Markle Now Knows Just How Racist The U.K. Is To Black Women

I’m sorry you had to experience the dusty behavior of this woe begotten island. I am glad you were insulated from the maddening violences experienced by the Black people of a lower class in this country. Just as we’ve seen with the Grenfell fire, the government is very happy to deny safe living conditions for working class Black and brown people.

Meghan, you are creating what happens next when the princess marries her prince, not the ravenous tabloids or ignorant British public. Go get your happily ever after.

Sincerely,

A Black British Woman Who Gets It

Kelechi Okafor (@kelechnekoff) is writer, multi-award winning Benz Punani Womanist and creator of @SayYourMindPod and #SallyInHR.