Royal Engagement Seen as Symbol of Change, With Asterisks
- 6 years ago
Royal Engagement Seen as Symbol of Change, With Asterisks
Ms. Markle’s engagement “is a wonderful moment for modern Britain,
and it is especially poignant for Britain’s ethnic minority communities,” Mr. Lammy said, because it “sends a very powerful message about what it means to be black and British in 2017.”
But citing Britain’s gaping inequalities, he added, “We should never confuse powerful symbolism
with the systemic action still necessary to address persistent discrimination and inequality.”
And against the background of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, a referendum
that led to a rise in racial hate crime, others found even less reason to cheer the royal engagement.
“Students have been agitating in recent months to have their curriculum acknowledge Britain’s imperial past,
something the country has signally failed to do except through dishonest celebrations of imperial legacies.”
She added, “How exactly will the marriage of a privileged young woman of color to a British prince address any of this?”
Many black Britons are happy about the engagement, said Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff,
deputy editor of Gal-Dem, a website that publishes women of color exclusively.
On Tuesday, it was announced that Ms. Markle would — in addition to joining the Anglican Church — apply for British citizenship after
marrying Prince Harry on an unspecified date in May in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, the site of many royal weddings.
Ms. Markle’s engagement “is a wonderful moment for modern Britain,
and it is especially poignant for Britain’s ethnic minority communities,” Mr. Lammy said, because it “sends a very powerful message about what it means to be black and British in 2017.”
But citing Britain’s gaping inequalities, he added, “We should never confuse powerful symbolism
with the systemic action still necessary to address persistent discrimination and inequality.”
And against the background of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, a referendum
that led to a rise in racial hate crime, others found even less reason to cheer the royal engagement.
“Students have been agitating in recent months to have their curriculum acknowledge Britain’s imperial past,
something the country has signally failed to do except through dishonest celebrations of imperial legacies.”
She added, “How exactly will the marriage of a privileged young woman of color to a British prince address any of this?”
Many black Britons are happy about the engagement, said Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff,
deputy editor of Gal-Dem, a website that publishes women of color exclusively.
On Tuesday, it was announced that Ms. Markle would — in addition to joining the Anglican Church — apply for British citizenship after
marrying Prince Harry on an unspecified date in May in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, the site of many royal weddings.