So on the day of her wedding, Markle could have washed her hands of all the drama, controversy and speculation surrounding her identity. After all, Markle is very light-skinned, and many viewers of her work on Suits often assumed that she was white until the show included her character’s black father in a storyline . Because of her physical appearance, she could have had a wedding where race was not at all a factor, a by-the-book royal wedding that stuck to tradition and history. Instead, she made sure her blackness was front and centre. She and Prince Harry brought in Reverend Michael Bruce Curry , the black man who is the head of the Episcopal church, to deliver a passionate sermon. And then a black gospel choir brought the house down with a powerful rendition of "Stand By Me” and a performance by 19-year-old black cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason. As one of those royal-obsessed Americans with a strange fascination with the British monarchy, I can say with absolute certainty that the royals had never seen anything like that. Thanks to Meghan Markle, the royal wedding was unapologetically black. And I'm so proud of her for making that happen.