18-Year-Old Althea Bernstein Was Allegedly Set On Fire By Four White Men In Wisconsin
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Althea Bernstein, an 18-year-old Black woman, was on her way to her brother’s house early Wednesday morning around 1 a.m. when she says she was attacked by four white men. According to Bernstein, she was waiting at a stoplight in downtown Madison, Wisconsin, and suffered second- and third-degree burns after the men used a spray bottle to douse her with lighter fluid before throwing a lighter at her.
“I was listening to some music at a stoplight and then all of a sudden I heard someone yell the N-word really loud,” she told Madison365, a local non-profit media group. “I turned my head to look and somebody’s throwing lighter fluid on me. And then they threw a lighter at me, and my neck caught on fire and I tried to put it out, but I brushed it up onto my face.” Following the attack, Bernstein put out the fire and drove home, and was later treated at a nearby hospital.
Bernstein described the men as “classic Wisconsin frat boys” who appeared to be intoxicated. She said two of them were wearing all black and the other two donned floral shirts and jeans. Far right protestors in recent weeks have shown up in Hawaiian shirts to counter Black liberation demonstrations, but it is unclear at this time whether Bernstein’s attackers are directly connected to the movement.
The president of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dane County, Michael Johnson, released a statement on behalf of Bernstein's family stating that they were “saddened at what happened to Althea and the unprovoked attack on her body. At this time, our family is asking everyone to respect our privacy as Althea is recovering from the burns on her face and neck.”
Read More: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/06/9884357/althea-bernstein-wisconsin-black-woman-lighter-fluid-hate-crime
= new reply since forum marked as read
By Robert Chappell - Jun 25, 2020
Madison365.com
Link: https://madison365.com/black-woman-attacked-by-men-wielding-lighter-fluid-racial-slurs/
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“I was listening to some music at a stoplight and then all of a sudden I heard someone yell the N-word really loud,” she said in an interview Wednesday. “I turned my head to look and somebody’s throwing lighter fluid on me. And then they threw a lighter at me, and my neck caught on fire and I tried to put it out, but I brushed it up onto my face. I got it out and then I just blasted through the red light … I just felt like I needed to get away. So I drove through the red light and just kept driving until I got to my brother and Middleton.”
Bernstein said she was able to drive to her brother’s and back home without significant pain because she was in shock — something she sees in other people regularly.
“I’ve had patients in shock and I know what shock is based on the textbook,” she said. “It’s so incapacitating, you don’t even realize what’s going on. My brain still got me home and my brain still got me to call my mom. I just remember my face was bleeding.”
This is a horrific crime and seems to me akin to attempted murder and a hate crime. I hope she can get the FBI to investigate and lock those four animals up.
KY.........
either , went on a all expenses paid trip w the fam and had a grand time .
for Althea Bernstein. boo to the perps .
