Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Surprise NAACP-Archewell Foundation Award Recipient: 'Y'all Got Me Good'

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex launched the annual award in 2022 to honor those making transformational change in the digital world

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry had a surprise in store.

On Thursday, the Archewell Foundation announced that Dr. Joy Buolamwini was the 2024 winner of the NAACP – Archewell Foundation Digital Civil Rights Award for her advocacy and research to overcome racist and sexist biases in artificial intelligence.

In a video shared on the Archewell Foundation website, Meghan, 42, and Prince Harry, 39, personally delivered the news to Buolamwini.

"You won!" Meghan told her before congratulating her with a hug. Prince Harry then also warmly embraced Buolamwini.

Buolamwini said in the video, "Y'all got me good."

The meet-up appeared to have taken place at the SXSW Conference in Austin, Texas, where Meghan joined a panel called "Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen" on Friday alongside Katie Couric, Brooke Shields and author and sociologist Nancy Wang Yuen. In addition to Meghan wearing the same outfit as she did during the panel, Buolamwini is seen in the video holding a SXSW lanyard.

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After discovering that face detection software didn't register her — but did pick up when she put on a white mask — Buolamwini founded the Algorithmic Justice League. She also authored the book Unmasking AI, where she examines the social implications of technology and discusses the movement to prevent AI harm.

"I am incredibly humbled and honored to join such an illustrious group of receipts for the Digital Civil Rights Award from the NAACP and The Archewell Foundation,” said Buolamwini in a statement. “With the rapid proliferation of AI, it is more crucial than ever to ensure that these algorithms acting as gatekeepers serve us all and do not impede on the civil rights of marginalized communities. This award will help the Algorithmic Justice League continue our work to prevent AI harms, connect the excoded to resources and raise awareness about AI’s impact on society through our advocacy, art and research."

Last year, the prize went to Nabiha Syed, the CEO of The Markup, a nonprofit news publication focused on the impact of technology on society.

In 2022, Prince Harry and Meghan appeared on stage at the NAACP Image Awards to share the first NAACP-Archewell Digital Civil Rights Award to Dr. Safiya Noble, cofounder of the UCLA center for critical internet inquiry, a renowned scholar, author and advocate.

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also accepted the President's Award in recognition of special achievement and distinguished public service. Past recipients of the honor include Muhammad Ali, Jesse Jackson, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, LeBron James and Rihanna. Through their Archewell Foundation, Harry and Meghan have supported efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and focused their attention on the Black Lives Matter movement and fighting for racial justice.

During the couple's speech, Harry thanked the Black community for "welcoming me so warmly," while Meghan, who brought her mom Doria Ragland to the awards show, said she "couldn't be prouder."

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