A black reverend spoke out about the “legacy of colonialism and racism” in front of the Prince and Princess of Wales — just hours after a royal racism scandal erupted back in the UK.
Reverend Mariama White-Hammond, the city’s Chief of Environment, Energy, and Open Space, spoke fiercely as Prince William and Princess Kate waited to come on stage to greet fans in Boston on Wednesday.
White-Hammond’s speech comes one day after William’s godmother Lady Susan Hussey resigned from Buckingham Palace for being accused of making racist remarks at an event hosted by Queen Consort Camilla on Tuesday.
The Reverend — who founded a youth organization focused on “teaching the history of the Civil Rights Movement” — started her speech at Boston City Hall by “acknowledging the ancestral lands we stand on today.”
“On this day, I invite us all to consider the legacy of colonialism and racism,” she said. “The ways it has impacted people across the world and its connection, its deep connection to the degradation of land and our planet that we are all seeking to reverse.
“The stories lost, the species made extinct, but also the persistence of people in the face of oppression and the fundamental dignity of all of our relations.”
She added, however, that Boston was “honored” to be the first American city and the first city outside of the United Kingdom to host the Earthshot Prize, which aims to promote creative solutions to climate change.
Royal sources tell Page Six the Prince and Princess — who are in the US for the first time in eight years — were not made aware of the speech before White-Hammond spoke.
Her comments also come months after William and Kate found themselves in hot water during a trip to the Caribbean over cries that it harked back to “colonialism.”
Despite the awkward speech — and its timing — William appeared in the pouring rain on stage and told waiting fans that he and Kate were “delighted” to be in “the great city of Boston.”
He also talked about President John F. Kennedy’s famous 1962 Moonshot speech, describing it as “challenge to American innovation and ingenuity.”
“It was that Moonshot speech that inspired me to launch the Earthshot Prize with the aim of doing the same for climate change as President Kennedy did for the space race,” William explained, “and where better to hold this year’s Awards Ceremony than in President Kennedy’s hometown, in partnership with his daughter and the Foundation that continues his legacy.”
The future King added: “Like President Kennedy, Catherine and I firmly believe that we all have it in ourselves to achieve great things, and that human beings have the ability to lead, innovate and problem-solve.”
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