Meghan Markle's South African Tour Speech Will Bring Tears to Your Eyes

Kristen Lopez

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There’s no slowing the royals down. Meghan Markle gave an impassioned speech during her South African tour that knocked everyone’s socks off, and we love her more than ever. She and Prince Harry visited Cape Town’s Nyanga township, considered South Africa’s most dangerous township, to partner with The Justice Desk, a human rights group that that teaches self-defense and empowerment to children in Nyanga, as the Telegraph reports.

After dancing with Prince Harry and an all-girls dance troupe, Markle stood on a tree stump to deliver a powerful message. Most importantly, she noted that she doesn’t see herself as just a royal on a tour of Africa, but an equal. “On one personal note, may I just say that while I am here with my husband as a member of the royal family, I want you to know that for me, I am here with you as a mother, as a wife, as a woman, as a woman of color, and as your sister,” Markle said. “I am here with you, and I am here for you and thank you for showing us your Ubuntu,” or spirit of togetherness.

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Markle also spoke to her pride of the people of South Africa. “I feel incredibly humble to be in the presence of all of you as you stand firm in your core values of respect, dignity, and equality,” she said, before quoting Maya Angelou.

For Markle, Angelou’s declaration, “Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women,” was reminiscent of how the people of Nyanga have focused on putting women first.

Markle urged the people of South Africa to keep going. “Your commitment is inspiring, it is energizing, and it is extraordinary. You must keep going. You must know that what you’re doing not only matters, it is vital because you are vital.”

 

For Jessica Dewhurst, who founded The Justice Desk, the speech was utterly amazing. “To hear Meghan say she was standing here as a woman of color sent shivers down my spine,” the Telegraph reports. “To be totally honest with you, when I heard that they wanted to say something I just thought it would be a ‘thank you for having us and goodbye.’ But they tackled some real issues here.”

Markle has been at the forefront of several issues involving women, from body-shaming of new mothers to using Vogue magazine as a platform to promote diverse female voices. And even Markle and Prince Henry’s son, baby Archie, got in on the goodwill tour, being given the Xhosa name “Ntsika,” meaning “pillar of strength,” similar to the meaning of “Archie.” So sweet.

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