After listening to a Wisconsin teenager’s account of being a victim of a hate crime, the Duchess of Sussex reached out to offer support to the young woman.
Over the weekend, Meghan Markle hooked up with Althea Bernstein, an 18-year-old biracial young woman who was allegedly set on fire by four white men last week, after learning of her experience.
“Thank you Meghan for contacting and monitoring our children in Madison, Wisconsin today,” reads a Facebook post by Michael Johnson, CEO and President of Dane County Boys & Girls Clubs, who has been acting as a spokesperson for Bernstein. . Johnson tells his local media outlet Channel 3000 that he, Markle and Bernstein had a three-minute, 40-minute phone call on Saturday afternoon. Prince Harry also joined for about 10 minutes.
“Prince Harry shared that young man [people’s] voices matter and Madison has our thoughts, prayers and wishes, ”Johnson writes.
The duchess, 38, spoke to Bernstein about faith and being biracial, and encouraged her to avoid social media and negative comments.
“[Bernstein] And Meghan spoke about the importance of self-care and allowing yourself to heal. And she applauded her for the way she responded and practically said, ‘Hi Michael, give me your cell phone number. I want to be in touch AND let me know whenever you come back and talk to people in Wisconsin, ” Johnson tells the station. “She is struggling. It is a challenge for her; It is very, very emotional. I spoke to her three or four times today, and I’ll tell you that Meghan cheered her up.
Johnson was impressed with Markle’s ability to offer tutoring over the phone.
“When I heard her, I thought, ‘She has to talk to more kids,’ and I’m grateful that she agreed to do it,” says Johnson. In addition to calling, Markle has agreed to be part of a virtual Wisconsin town hall for girls, to be scheduled in the coming weeks, Chanel 3000 reports.
Bernstein tells police that she was stopped at a red light while driving in Madison around 1 a.m. when a man called her a racial epithet, sprayed her with what is believed to be a lighter fluid, and then threw her a lit lighter. Although she was able to put out the flames, she received burns to her face. No arrests have been made, but authorities are investigating it as a hate crime.
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