Prince Harry and Meghan Markle say the Commonwealth must undertake the "uncomfortable" task of "acknowledging the past" to support the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex appeared via video link for a meeting of the Queen's Commonwealth Trust, of which they are President and Vice President respectively.
"There is no turning back now, everything is coming to a head," Harry said during the call.
Referring to the political association born out of the British Empire and led by his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, Harry said there was much more work to be done on addressing historical injustices and racial bias.
"When you look across the Commonwealth, there is no way that we can move forward unless we acknowledge the past," he said.
"So many people have done such an incredible job of acknowledging the past and trying to right those wrongs, but I think we all acknowledge there is so much more still to do.
"It's not going to be easy and in some cases it's not going to be comfortable, but it needs to be done, because, guess what, everybody benefits."
Meghan echoed Harry's sentiments, insisting that equality is a "fundamental human right".
"We're going to have to be a little uncomfortable right now, because it's only in pushing through that discomfort that we get to the other side of this and find the place where a high tide raises all ships," she said.
"Equality does not put anyone on the back foot, it puts us all on the same footing - which is a fundamental human right."
Harry and Meghan's roles as heads of the Queen's Commonwealth Trust are some of just a few official posts they retain after stepped down as senior working members of the royal family earlier this year.