The Exploding Reflecting Pool

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The Exploding Reflecting Pool

Former First Lady Michelle Obama recently weighed into the debate that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry kicked off when they discussed racism in Britain during an interview with Oprah Winfrey. “Race isn’t a new construct in the world for people of color, so it wasn’t a complete surprise to hear her feelings and to have them articulated,” Obama told the Today show.

The BBC called the interview “explosive.” After a year where protests against police brutality, subpar health services for people of color and other inequalities took center stage amid the coronavirus pandemic, the young couple detailed how the royal family refused to provide them with a security detail and fretted over whether their unborn child might have dark skin.

The episode was a “proverbial reflecting pool” for Americans who felt as if Markle and the princ...