At the same event when she asked a black British domestic abuse activist, “Where in Africa are you from?”, Lady Susan Hussey allegedly questioned one of the top attorneys in the UK about his ancestry.
Racism is never far away, according to Nazir Afzal, 60, Chancellor of the University of Manchester and former Chief Prosecutor of the CPS under Sir Keir Starmer.
Following a nasty race controversy that saw Lady Susan Hussey, the late Queen’s top lady-in-waiting, resign after being accused of making racist remarks about Ngozi Fulani and refusing to accept she was British, Ngozi Fulani has gained international attention.
The outstanding DV specialist Ngozi Fulani’s ancestry was questioned by Lady Hussey at a reception at Buckingham Palace, Mr. Afzal tweeted. She just once inquired about my ethnicity and seems to accept my response, “Manchester, at the moment!”
Ngozi Fulani said today that, contrary to what Buckingham Palace had claimed, neither the King nor the Queen Consort nor Prince William had been in touch with her to apologize.
However, she said that she would ‘glad’ accept the Royal Family’s offer to a meeting to explain what transpired when Lady Susan Hussey repeatedly questioned her, “Where are you really from?” after refusing to believe she was British.
The Prince and Princess of Wales’ three-day tour to the US, which is seen to be their most significant ever, has already been overshadowed by the incident on Tuesday and Lady Hussey’s quick departure from the royal household.
The head of the nonprofit Sistah Space, Ms. Folani, refuted statements made by Buckingham Palace that they had talked to her yesterday. She said: “I don’t know where that has come from,” to Good Morning Britain. Nobody has gotten in touch with the charity or myself. I can state unequivocally that we have not heard from the palace.
I was standing next to two other black ladies when Lady Susan suddenly made a beeline for me, grabbed my hair, and pulled them out of the way so she could see my name tag, she said while describing the ‘interrogation’.
That is improper. It’s not proper in terms of culture and I wouldn’t put my hands in someone else’s hair.
William has not made a public remark since arriving in Boston yesterday, despite demands to confront prejudice head-on. William has repudiated his godmother and racism in a statement sent via his spokesperson.
Lady Hussey’s supporters said that Buckingham Palace had “thrown” Lady Hussey “under the bus” in order to save the Wales tour, but even Ms. Folani stated she “wished” her abuser had retained her position rather than being made to learn what she had done wrong.
It’s unfortunate for me that it ended that way, she remarked. She should have been talked to or re-educated, in my opinion.
According to BBC royal writer Jonny Dymond, Lady Hussey was “collateral damage” as the royal family deals with accusations of institutional racism and damning charges that a senior royal made remarks about Archie’s skin color.
William and Kate can no longer keep quiet, according to Boston University history Professor Arianne Chernock.
It wouldn’t be in their best interests to disregard this problem, she continued. They’ve attempted in the past to say everything quickly before moving on.
They should speak out as the Prince and Princess of Wales, not as their managers, in my opinion.
Ms. Fulani was certain that prejudice, not her age, was to blame for how the late Queen’s lady in waiting treated her.
At a royal gathering on Tuesday, Lady Susan Hussey, the 83-year-old godmother of the Prince of Wales, questioned Ms. Fulani about her “actually came from” and later resigned from the household. She also apologized.
Let’s be clear about what this is, Ms. Fulani said on BBC Radio 4’s Today program.
I’ve heard several theories, including that it has to do with her age and other things. And in my opinion, it shows a certain lack of regard for ageism. Do we mean to imply that you cannot be offensive or racist because of your age?
“I don’t see the importance of whether I’m British or not if you bring people to an event, as I mentioned, against domestic violence, and there are people there from other ethnicities.” Your goal is to make me feel uncomfortable in my own place.
Although it isn’t physical assault, she said, it is still abuse.
The domestic violence advocate described how the debate at the royal event developed to BBC Radio 4’s Today show as “like an interrogation.”
I suppose the only explanation I can provide is that she’s insistently asking, “Where are you from? Where do your ancestors come from?
Ms. Fulani clarified that when the 83-year-old began interrogating her, she attempted to extend Lady Susan Hussey the benefit of the doubt.
‘At that moment, I’m wondering whether she may not be able to hear me properly since she continues asking me the same question. Because there are a lot of factors to take into account while conversing with someone who may be older than you…
But it rapidly became clear to me that this had nothing to do with her ability for understanding and was instead an attempt by the woman to force me to renounce my British citizenship.
The head of a black nonprofit organization responded to a question about her feelings over Lady Susan Hussey’s departure by saying, “I want the spotlight to stay where it should be, which is on the women and girls who are impacted by domestic violence.”
Having said that, she is influenced by Buckingham Palace, and their and her choices are both her own, independent of my.
When asked whether she would have chosen not to see Lady Susan leave the family rather than accept her apologies, Ms. Fulani said, “I would have preferred it did not happen.”
I would have loved to enter a location to which I was invited and get the same treatment as the other guests.
“I’d rather that we continue to concentrate on the mistreatment of women and girls.”
At the conclusion of their first day in the country, the Prince and Princess of Wales went courtside to witness an NBA game between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat.
The rising racial controversy surrounding the godmother of the future king, which has led to accusations of institutional racism against the monarchy, has cast a shadow on William and Kate’s three-day trip to Boston.
After repeatedly asking Ngozi Fulani, a renowned black British-born head of a domestic violence charity, where she was “actually from,” Lady Susan Hussey resigned from her position in the royal household and apologized. This occurred during a Buckingham Palace event.
A Kensington Palace official told reporters in the US ahead of the three-day trip to Boston: “Racism has no place in our culture.” The prince is said to have agreed that Lady Susan’s decision to resign from her honorary position as one of the three Ladies of the Household was the appropriate one.
Ms. Fulani said that she felt she was the victim of “overt racism,” yet she did not want Lady Susan to quit as a result of the event.
It’s unfortunate for me that it ended that way, Ms. Fulani told The Guardian. She should have been talked to or re-educated, in my opinion.
The prince and princess sat throughout the event with Massachusetts Governor-Elect Maura Healey, Celtics Legend Thomas “Satch” Sanders, the team’s two primary owners and their spouses, and others as the Celtics jumped out to an early lead during the basketball game on Wednesday night.
The Star Spangled Banner was played while Kate and William stood throughout the anthem, but thereafter, when the royal couple was introduced by a stadium announcer and appeared on the big screen, there were a few isolated instances of jeers across the arena.
The Original Celtics, a well-known basketball club founded by Irish immigrants in New York early in the 20th century, and which folded in 1930, served as the model for the Boston Celtics.
When the Prince and Princess emerged on the screens in the center above the court, other spectators could be heard shouting, “USA, USA.”
William and Kate watched as the Celtics honored their longstanding practice of recognizing a “Hero Among Us,” announcing someone trying to positively influence the community, after the second quarter, with the score tied 47.
After being applauded by the local populace for her efforts as a key participant in the Youth Climate Leadership Program since she was eleven, Ollie Perrault, a 15-year-old climate activist who is now the founder and director of Youth Climate Action Now, met the royal couple.
William and Kate will go to Greentown Labs on Thursday, a digital cluster that has fostered climate pioneers for more than ten years.
Since its founding in 2011, Greentown is thought to be the biggest incubator for climate technology start-ups in North America, having aided more than 500 businesses that have generated more than 9,000 employment and more than four billion dollars (£3.3b) in investment.
They will also have a tour of Roca, a nonprofit organization that focuses on preventing urban violence among young people.
The pair will spend time with women in the young moms’ program, current participants, and graduates of the young men’s program, as well as visit with organization officials to learn about their intervention methodology.
Soon after William’s godmother was accused of uttering racist comments at a dinner thrown by Queen Consort Camilla, Buckingham Palace found itself at the center of a fierce race debate. A black preacher startled the Prince and Princess of Wales with a lecture about the “history of colonialism and racism.”
Reverend Mariama White-Hammond, the city’s chief of environment, energy, and open space, delivered a powerful speech just before William and Kate took the stage at the Boston launch event of the Prince’s Earthshot Prize. She urged the audience to “consider the legacy of colonialism and racism,” particularly when it comes to their impact on climate change.
Reverend Hammond, who started a youth group dedicated to “teaching the history of the Civil Rights Movement,” addressed the crowd while the Prince and Princess of Wales sat in the audience and stated, “On this day, I encourage us all to ponder the legacy of colonialism and racism.”
The manner in which it has affected individuals all across the globe, she said, and its profound relationship to the planetary destruction that we are all trying to stop. The tales that have been lost, the animals that have been extinct, but also the people’s tenacity in the face of injustice and the basic decency of all of our ties.
Although Lady Susan Hussey, a former lady-in-waiting to the Queen and William’s godmother, was not mentioned, many people couldn’t help but draw a connection between the controversy and Reverend White-comments Hammond’s after she was accused of making racist remarks at a Buckingham Palace event on Tuesday night.
The Reverend thanked William and Kate for choosing Boston to host this year’s Earthshot Prize after beginning her remarks by “acknowledging the ancient lands we stand on today.”
We are a city of numerous firsts, as you all know. We are thrilled to host the Earthshot Prize as the first American city and the first city outside of the United Kingdom, she stated.
According to reports, William and Kate are adamant about sticking to their plan to meet as many Americans as they can while launching the prince’s Earthshot Prize awards in America. The trip, according to a spokeswoman, was a “big occasion” for them.
Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts welcomed them. William remarked in a speech that he and Catherine were “delighted to be back in the United States” and that they were “very appreciative” to Governor Baker and the First Lady of Massachusetts for their welcoming them into Boston.
“I would like to thank the people of Massachusetts, and in especially the people of Boston, for their numerous tributes given to the late Queen on this, our first foreign tour since the passing of my grandmother. She had very happy memories of her trip to celebrate the bicentennial in 1976.
“My grandma was a life-affirming person. And I am too.
In order to build a genuinely global platform that would inspire hope and urgent optimism as we work to safeguard the future of our planet, we founded the Earthshot Prize last year.
In America, there is nonstop coverage of the couple’s eagerly awaited visit. They were welcomed at a gathering at City Hall by mayor Michelle Wu, 37.
Connor Pewarski, Miss Wu’s husband, and their kids Blaise and Cass were were introduced to the royal couple during a short meeting in the mayor’s office Friday night.
Before they begin a unique countdown to the Earthshot awards presentation, the event was the public’s first opportunity to meet William and Kate. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is another location the prince will visit this week.
The pair will get knowledge of the efforts being made by neighborhood organizations to reduce the threat that rising sea levels pose to Boston. They will also visit Greentown Labs in the adjacent city of Somerville to gain insight into the creation of cutting-edge green technology.
The emphasis of their visit, though, is unquestionably the gala awards ceremony tomorrow, and William has used his royal star power to win over a number of celebrity supporters.
In what one source referred to as the prince’s “Super Bowl” moment, singers Billie Eilish, Annie Lennox, and actor Rami Malik will front a spectacular lineup for the Earthshot Awards when he and his wife roll out the red carpet here this week. William has a strong commitment to the prizes he created to recognize people and organizations working on workable solutions to the world’s environmental issue. The stakes are high since each of the five winners will get £1 million in prize money.
According to sources, William views Earthshot as an extension of his expanding “global leadership” position. One more said, “It’s a tremendous moment for him on the global stage.”
Ellie Goulding and Chloe x Halle are two more performers at the Boston MGM Music Hall.
A cleaner-burning stove program in Kenya and a bubble barrier built in the Netherlands to stop garbage from entering the seas are two of the 15 finalists competing for the £1 million offered to each of the five category winners. Additionally, there are two submissions from the UK that are finalists for the first time. As an alternative to single-use plastic, Pierre Paslier and Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez of London’s Notpla Hard Material start-up produce packaging from plants and seaweed.
Low Carbon Materials, situated in County Durham and the other finalist from the UK, utilizes non-recyclable plastic trash to create carbon-neutral concrete blocks.
The show’s introduction will be spoken by Sir David Attenborough, and it will air on the BBC on Sunday at 5.30 p.m.