Lady Susan Hussey, 83-years-old, recently resigned from her duties at Buckingham Palace following an encounter with the CEO of an East London charity.
Rising East spoke with young East Londoners to see if they agreed with the resignation.
The background is that Ngozi Fulani, of Hackney-based Sistah Space, was a guest at Buckingham Palace when she was asked repeatedly by Lady Hussey where she “came from.”
Most of the small sample of young people we spoke to agreed that resigning was the right thing to do, while one reserved judgement as to whether Hussey’s questioning was racist or genuine.
In an interview with NBC News, Fulani said, “One of the first things she did is take my hair in her hands, my locks, move it to say she wants to see my name badge”, and that this was without permission. “It is not okay to put your hand in my hair”, she added.
Sistah Space supports African and Caribbean heritage women and girls who are affected by domestic abuse.
The racism escalated in Fulani’s view when her statement that she was a British citizen was followed by yet another question: “Where did your people come from?”
Following the incident there are two sides arguing online. Many see Hussey’s behaviour as a racist microaggression and some point out that Hussey was assigned to Meghan Markle when she first moved in with the royal family.
Whereas others argue that Hussey may have just wanted a genuine conversation. An online petition that asks “How is it racist to have a genuine interest in another person’s heritage?” has so far attracted over 150,000 signatures.
Edited by Shirin Ghayad
