Meghan Markle is getting back to her roots with a discussion about two things she's passionate about. Meghan recently sat down with feminist icon Gloria Steinem for a "historic backyard chat" about women and voting. A teaser for the full conversation was shared on the MAKERS Women Instagram page.
It's not the first time Meghan has spoken out on voting. Meghan was one of 100 influential women who spoke with Marie Claire about why they're voting in the 2020 presidential election. Meghan also interviewed Emily Ramshaw, the CEO and cofounder of The 19th, to talk about women and voting.
Meghan's decision to speak out on politically adjacent matter has ruffled feathers across the pond. Some of Meghan's biggest critics, including Piers Morgan, have called for her and Harry to be stripped of their titles. They believe that as members of the royal family, they have no right to speak out on the US election. This is despite the fact that the two now reside in the country, which is also Meghan's home country.
Meghan Markle is getting vocal about the vote, and she's unapologetic. Meghan has been talking about the importance of women getting politically involved in recent weeks. She was one of 100 influential women to speak to Marie Claire about why she'll be voting this November.
"I know what it's like to have a voice, and also what it's like to feel voiceless," Meghan said.
"I also know that so many men and women have put their lives on the line for us to be heard. And that opportunity, that fundamental right, is in our ability to exercise our right to vote and to make all of our voices heard."
The importance of the vote is something she and Harry both feel strongly about, Meghan revealed.
"One of my favorite quotes, and one that my husband and I have referred to often, is from Kate Sheppard, a leader in the suffragist movement in New Zealand, who said, 'Do not think your single vote does not matter much. The rain that refreshes the parched ground is made up of single drops,'" Meghan continued.
"That is why I vote."
A few days later, Meghan interviewed The 19th's cofounder and CEO, Emily Ramshaw. In their conversation, Meghan opened up about how hard it was to come back to her home country at a time of painful racial reckoning.
"It was so sad to see where our country was in that moment," Meghan said.
"If there's any silver lining in that, I would say that in the weeks after the murder of George Floyd, in the peaceful protests that you were seeing, in the voices that were coming out, in the way that people were actually owning their role … it shifted from sadness to a feeling of absolute inspiration, because I can see that the tide is turning."
"From my standpoint, it's not new to see this undercurrent of racism and certainly unconscious bias, but I think to see the changes that are being made right now is really — it's something I look forward to being a part of," she said.
"And being part of using my voice in a way that I haven't been able to of late. So, yeah, it's good to be home."
Next on Meghan's schedule was a "virtual couch party" with When We All Vote. She gave a wonderful speech to encourage voters to exercise their right to vote.
"Today, we are watching so many women in different communities who are marginalized still struggling to see that right [to vote] come to fruition, and that is — it's just simply not okay," Meghan noted.
"And we look at the attempts of voter suppression and what that's doing, it's all the more reason we need each of you to be out there supporting each other, to understand that this fight is worth fighting, and we all have to be out there mobilizing to have our voices heard."
"So you know it's interesting we are obviously faced with a lot of problems in our world right now, both in the physical world and in the digital world. But we can and must do everything we can to ensure all women have their voices heard," Meghan said.
"Because at this juncture, if we aren't part of the solution, we are part of the problem. If you aren't going out there and voting, then you're complicit. If you're complacent, you're complicit."
"You know, in the fraught moment right now that we find our nation in, exercising your right to vote isn't simply being part of the solution, it's being part of a legacy," she concluded.
"So thank you for being part of that legacy with us. Take good care of yourselves and of each other, and I can't wait to see what we can all accomplish together."
One of Meghan's harshest critics, Piers Morgan, was furious about Meghan doing the event. On a Twitter rant, Piers said that she and Harry should be stripped of their titles for participating in politics in a partisan fashion.
"She can do what she likes, she just can't make politically partisan statements while remaining Duchess of Sussex. The royals are not allowed to do that. If Meghan & Harry truly want 'freedom' from royal duty & rules, they should stop trading off their royal titles."
Those criticisms won't stop Meghan from speaking out, however. Meghan sat down with Gloria Steinem for MAKERS Women's "historic backyard chat" on women and voting. The preview posted on Instagram, in a dreamy black-and-white landscape.
Meghan and Gloria sit in a picturesque outdoor setting with a wooden table between them. Meghan's dogs, Guy and Pula, lay happily at her feet.
"Meg, welcome home," Gloria says. "I'm so glad that you're home."
"Thank you," Meghan replies. She and Harry just moved into a home in the Santa Barbara area with 1-year-old son Archie.
"Me too, for some many reasons."
Meghan and Gloria spoke about the importance of women, especially young women, getting out to vote this year.
"People forget how hard women like you and so many others before you fought for us to just be where we are right now," Meghan said to Gloria.
"If you don't vote, you don't exist. It is the only place we're all equal, the voting booth."
"What worries me the most are young people, who I understand are the least likely to vote and I can understand the feeling that they don't think they have an impact," Gloria replies.
"Yet, it's more important for them to vote than anyone else because they're going to be alive long after I am, and they're going to be suffering the consequences."
Despite all that's at stake for so many women, both Meghan and Gloria could agree that things feel like they're moving in a positive direction.
"Do you feel hopeful?" Meghan asks.
"I do feel hopeful," Gloria responds.
