The Sussex Squad Is Undefeated

 

The Sussex Squad is undefeated.

I said what I said.

As a group we have raised over $600,000 to help various organisations, not counting private donations that can’t be recorded.

No one in the royal family since Diana has ever inspired this much generosity, and while Diana had a lot of people who loved her, what we’ve created within the squad as a community is totally new and unique in terms of how royal watchers interact as a group.

We are a new generation of royal watchers – we don’t just ‘watch’, we ‘do’. We’re not interested in ribbon cutting and hand waving. We are dedicated to active community service, personal growth and giving generously, both to Sussex related causes and causes we individually choose to support.

Within the Sussex Squad, I have seen friendships being formed, people who need help being aided in their time of need, and just so much positivity and joy. We are a group of people who have been inspired by our faves to do good in the world and Harry and Meghan can be proud of that.

When the covid pandemic hit, we knew what our community needed and created several resources to help people with job hunting and career pivots at a time when so many people were loosing their livelihoods, we did our 40×40 minutes before it was a thing.

The Sussex Squad has been so powerful as a tool to defend the Sussex’s. They called us Russian bots, tried to claim that we were paid for, they’ve used derogatory terms to describe us, terms like ‘sugars’, and it just hasn’t worked. We come back stronger every time, and we don’t only support our faves, we build and uplift each other.

So why has this community gone from strength to strength despite all efforts from the ‘powerful forces’ trying to destroy our movement? There are many reasons, these are just a few.

 

We come from a place of authenticity

Meghan has fans from all walks of life, all races, and all backgrounds across the globe, but it goes without saying that part of her core demographic is black women and women of colour.
I believe the reason a lot of women of colour jumped to her defence so quickly was because they recognised what was happening to her on a personal level. The way she was being depicted as pushy, as angry, and as a jezebel. That despite being nothing but excellent, she could do nothing right and was always wrong. This is something that women of colour, particularly black women in spaces where there are very few of us, have probably experienced one level or another. I think regardless of what your race is, most people have felt like the bullied underdog at one point or another during their lives, and could relate to that watching a very powerful, 300 year institution, come down on a very sweet woman, who before she ever walked into their space, never had a bad word said about her.

I think it’s also worth mentioning that she had an audience, 3 million strong on Instagram alone before she ever walked into that family.

We are not a herd of sheep, there is no shepherd

The old saying goes that if you want to disturb the sheep, strike the shepherd, but the Sussex Squad are not a monolith. I’ve seen numerous attempts by so called student researchers to contact the squad, I’ve seen journalists joining live chats on Sussex Squad podcasts trying to ask questions, and I’m sure there are people in the squad who have been lowkey contacted by members of the press to snitch on our inner circles, but so far everybody has stayed on code, and those who have gone over to the dark side, have been called It is a lot more difficult to infiltrate a movement when you have clusters of groups, as opposed to one big group.

 

There are so many different platforms

The Sussex Squad are so diverse in the we express our appreciation for Harry and Meghan and you will find something different on every platform. Everyone has their own style and motifs and message. We all bring something of value. The commentator channels, the fashion inspired blogs, the voices on Twitter, the reading, cooking and self care clubs. They all come together to form our wonderful community and so there’s something for everyone.

 

We are inspired by a great role models

Just look at what we do when we come together. Sussex Squad podcast did a 12 hour podcast that raised $25,000, we raised over $100,000 for Campfed and those are just a few examples of what we’ve done. Do you know how hard even big charities have to hustle to make that happen? That is huge, and people feel compelled to chip in because we know we are supporting two people who’s entire lives have been dedicated to service and making an impactful difference. Meghan with her numerous humanitarian projects and Harry with Invictus and Sentebale.

You cannot say the same about the other royals, their version of service is living a gilded life and showing up to an event for an hour and waving and cutting a ribbon. You can’t inspire action with laziness, privilege and inaction.

All of that and more is why the Sussex Squad is undefeated and why we will go from strength to strength. Just as the Sussex’s have.