Prince Harry Got Real About How Marrying Meghan Taught Him Unconscious Bias Is Real
It's no surprise that Prince Harry was raised in a very privileged way. While much of Harry's life was sheltered thanks to his place in the British royal family, the former military pilot is learning a lot as he grows — and much of that knowledge is thanks to Meghan Markle. The Duke of Sussex is no stranger to praising his wife for the good she brings out in him, and Prince Harry's quotes about Meghan Markle and unconscious bias needed to be vocalized.
While Harry had never experienced negative effects of unconscious bias (the stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner) first-hand, he's watched Meghan deal with them since they got married in May 2018. Now, he's opening up about what he's learned from Meghan's encounters with unconscious bias.
"Unconscious bias, from my understanding, having the upbringing and the education that I had, I had no idea what it was. I had no idea it existed," Harry said during a British GQ interview with Black Lives Matter activist Patrick Hutchinson. "And then, sad as it is to say, it took me many, many years to realize it, especially then living a day or a week in my wife's shoes."
The way Harry sees it, this behavior continues to happen in part because of "people within positions of power," which he says is "one of the most dangerous things."
"Whether it's politics or whether it's the media, where if you're not aware of your own bias and you're not aware of the culture within your system, then how are we ever going to progress?" Harry continued. "How are we ever going to get to that point where there is more fairness? Because it's not a zero-sum game, right? Everyone, everyone benefits if the Black community gets treated the way they should be treated."
Harry went on to note that this "isn't up for debate," and it's going to take "every single one of us" to change things when it comes to racism in America. "Anyone who is pushing against it really needs to take a long, hard look at themselves in a mirror," he said.
While it may have taken Harry a while to learn what unconscious bias is, he's definitely making up for the time lost by speaking out and raising awareness in 2020.
