Meghan and Harry Surprised Young Poets to Celebrate Black History Month

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry surprised young poets in a Zoom poetry class, held by literacy nonprofit Get Lit, to celebrate Black History Month.

  • Meghan Markle and Prince Harry surprised young poets in a Zoom poetry class over the weekend.
  • The Sussexes joined a class held by Get Lit, a nonprofit that empowers young people and promotes literacy through poetry, to celebrate Black History Month.
  • Meghan shared some of her favorite lines of poetry with the class.

A nonprofit that empowers young people and promotes literacy through poetry has hailed Meghan Markle and Prince Harry as "magic and kind" after the Sussexes surprised a virtual poetry class over the weekend. Meghan and Harry surprised young poets in a Get Lit Zoom class, the organization revealed on Instagram, to mark Black History Month.

Get Lit shared a screenshot from Meghan and Harry's appearance on Instagram, in which the poets in attendance look stunned as the Sussexes appear on screen. "Guess who surprised our poetry class this weekend?! It was the best weekend EVER!" the caption read.

"Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, were magic and kind and interested in poetry!" the caption continued. "The Duchess even shared some of her favorite poetry lines. We are so grateful for their visit in honor of Black History Month. It goes down as most epic experience in Get Lit history!!!"

Poet Mason Granger, manager of public outreach at Get Lit, shared further insight into Meghan and Harry's virtual visit. "Soooo Prince Harry and Meghan dropped into my poetry class on Saturday and kicked it with the Get Lit Players for a multitude of minutes," Granger wrote on Instagram. "My favorite part of it all was Meghan echoing so many sentiments we’ve talked about in class, about this particular moment in time/history to be a young person and the ripple effect of a single voice."

"The root of them deciding to come is because at some point in their lives, they were moved by a poem. And whoever wrote that poem at some point thought to themselves, 'Does this even matter? Is anyone even listening?' And they shared it anyway. Fast forward ripple ripple ripple and these kids get a surprise 45 minute chat with the Prince Harry and Meghan. It was pretty surreal."

"My kids shared poems, they asked questions, the kids answered and asked questions back, they responded authentically (they actually read and learned the kids bios I’d sent earlier)," Granger continued. "The org and all the kids are posting today with more details about the visit—I just want to say that the Get Lit Players are brilliant and 10/10 would recommend The Duke and Duchess of Sussex for your next Zoom poetry practice."

RELATED STORIES

prince harry duchess sussex victoria park

(Image credit: Pool/Samir Hussein)
Emily Dixon
Morning Editor

Emily Dixon is a British journalist who’s contributed to CNN, Teen Vogue, Time, Glamour, The Guardian, Wonderland, The Big Roundtable, Bust, and more, on everything from mental health to fashion to political activism to feminist zine collectives. She’s also a committed Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, and Tracee Ellis Ross fan, an enthusiastic but terrible ballet dancer, and a proud Geordie lass.