George Floyd's life mattered: Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle in a heartfelt message

Reuters file photo

The Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle shared her sadness about the racial divisions in the United States, while talking with students at her former high school said that it would be wrong to not speak at all because the life of George Floyd mattered. 

Meghan via video conference told graduates of the Los Angeles-based Immaculate Heart High School: "I realized the only wrong thing to say is to say nothing, because George Floyd's life mattered."

Markle, who is of mixed parentage with an African American mother and a white father, said the unrest reminded her of riots that took place in her hometown of Los Angeles after police officers were acquitted in the video-taped beating of another African-American, Rodney King.

"I remember the curfew and I remember rushing back home, and on that drive home, seeing ash fall from the sky, and smelling the smoke and seeing the smoke billow out of buildings," she said.

She said she remembered men in the back of a van holding guns and rifles and that those memories don't go away.

Floyd, an African-American man died after a white police officer pressed his knee into his neck in Minneapolis on May 25. The incident has sparked a wave of protests and violent riots across the country. Several celebrities and politicians too have spoken out on the matter poitnign out police brutality towards African American detainees.

The duchess' video was first reported by the US magazine Essence.