Recent genealogical testing undertaken by Meghan Markle showed she was "43 percent Nigerian," the royal revealed on the latest episode of her Spotify original podcast, Archetypes.
Meghan stated that the aim of the podcast is to "dissect, explore, and subvert the labels that try to hold women back." The archetype tackled in the seventh episode of the 12 episode series was that of the "angry Black woman."
As guests, Meghan invited author and academic Emily Bernard, actress and producer Issa Rae, and talk show host Ziwe Fumudoh, to discuss their various experiences with the racist label and how it manifests in day-to-day life.
Meghan herself has spoken out about the racism she faced when she became a global figure of public interest after she met and married her husband Prince Harry.
During the early stages of their relationship in 2016, Harry released a statement from Kensington Palace via a communications secretary denouncing the "sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments," targeted at Meghan.
When the couple moved to the U.S. in 2020 and later discussed their royal experiences with Oprah Winfrey, the subject of racism was once again raised, including that an unnamed member of the royal family had made racially insensitive comments about the color of the couple's future children.
In response to the interview with Winfrey, Buckingham Palace said "the issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning," going on to add that "while some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately."
During her Archetypes conversation with the Nigerian-American Fumudoh, famous for her comedic and combative interviewing technique, Meghan light-heartedly raised with the star that she had had some genealogical testing done.
"I just had my genealogy done a couple years ago," she said, to which Fumudoh asked: "What? What are you?"
"Forty three percent Nigerian," Meghan responded. "I'm going to start to dig deeper into all this because anybody that I've told, especially Nigerian women, are like 'What!'"
Throughout the rest of the episode the duchess unpacked the associations behind the "angry Black woman" trope, which is often applied to those in positions of power or influence.
One example she discussed was the treatment of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson during her Senate judiciary committee hearings considering her nomination to be the first Black woman appointed as a Supreme Court justice.
Discussing the subject with Bernard, Meghan said the hearings were "gripping and painful," while Bernard commented that some of the senators questioning Jackson were attempting to "get her to react in a way that they could characterize her according to their stereotypes of Black women."
Later, during her conversation with Rae, Meghan asked whether as a Black woman, she felt "allowed" to be angry in certain situations, given the negative stereotyping that is associated with it.
"Absolutely not," Rae responded. "Because I can't lose my cool. I can't do that especially as a black woman but also as a public figure...because people are looking for ways to justify their perception of you."
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
