Amari Allen Springfield, Virginia student at Immanuel Christian School is pinned down by three white boys who then cut off the black girl’s dreadlocks.
A 12-year-old girl at a Virginia private religious school has told of three of her male classmates pinning her down and cutting her dreadlocks, calling her hair ‘ugly’ and ‘nappy.’
The group of white sixth-grade boys ambushed Amari Allen during recess Monday while she was in the playground of the Immanuel Christian School in Springfield, Fairfax County, local outlets reported.
‘They said my hair was nappy and I was ugly,’ Allen, who is African American, told News4.
One of the boys covered Allen’s mouth and another held her hands behind her back, while the third cut her dreadlocks with a pair of scissors, she said.
A regard of the school’s website reveals tuition to attend Immanuel Christian School for sixth-grade students like Allen at $11,500 per year.
Why? Immanuel Christ black student who accused white classmates of cutting dreadlocks busted lying
‘It’s very painful. I want to see something done.’
‘They kept laughing and calling me names,’ Allen told WUSA9. ‘They called me ‘ugly,’ [and] said I shouldn’t have been born.’
When the bell rang, ‘they ran off laughing, and I was just sitting there,’ the distraught girl added.
The ordeal lasted about five minutes, Allen said. It’s unclear where school staff was at the time.
Allen claims the same three students having bullied her in the past, stealing her lunch and calling her names.
The preteen — a straight-A student and violin player — who has been attending the private school since kindergarten didn’t tell her family what happened until Wednesday, when her grandmother, Cynthia Allen, noticed her granddaughter’s hair was shorter.
‘It’s very painful,’ Cynthia Allen said. ‘I want to see them dismissed from the school. I want to see something done.’
JUST IN: Boys Pin Down Black Classmate, Cut Her Dreadlocks at Immanuel Christian School in VA. She says the 3 white boys called her “nappy” & “ugly.” Fairfax Co. Police investigating. VP Mike Pence’s wife, Karen, teaches at the school part time #AmariAllenhttps://t.co/ngn8g8eyok
— Shomari Stone (@shomaristone) September 26, 2019
Immanuel Christian School advises Amari’s family ‘pray’ about the situation:
The girl’s grandfather, Dewaune Allen, said his heart broke when he heard about the trauma his granddaughter went through.
‘I was just paralyzed,’ he said. ‘I couldn’t get myself together.’
According to Amari’s family, the pre teen had always enjoyed going to the school until she found herself becoming the subject of bullying at the beginning of the recent school year.
The family met with school administrators on Thursday morning to address the incident. They’ve also reported it to Fairfax County Police.
Head of School, Stephen Danish said administrators were ‘deeply disturbed by the allegations’ and that the school would be investigating.
‘We take seriously the emotional and physical well-being of all our students, and have a zero-tolerance policy for any kind of bullying or abuse,’ the educator said in a statement.
The incident at the Christian Evangelical school comes after the private school banning gay and transgender students — along with requiring job applicants to pledge that marriage is only between a man and a woman.
In Virginia — as well as Ohio, Missouri, Arizona and Alaska — it’s legal for employers to discriminate based on gender identity, according to Fast Company.
Of note, Vice President Mike Pence‘s wife, Karen Pence, teaches part-time at Immanuel Christian School, after previously working at the school for 12 years.
The office of the second lady did not immediately respond to media queries about the incident this week.
In the interim, Amari’s family refuses to bring the girl back to school until the educational facility takes action against her perpetrators.
‘It’s very painful,’ Cynthia Allen reiterated. ‘I want to see them dismissed from the school. I want to see something done.’
Immanuel Christian School has since recommended Amari’s family ‘pray’ about the situation and sought to have Amari return on Monday, WJLA reported.
It remains to be seen what actions, if any, the religious school will take against Amari’s tormentors.
12 year-old Amari Allen had her dreadlocks cut by 3 boys while being pinned down at Immanuel Christian school in Springfield, VA.
These 3 boys need to be expelled & charged. Don’t just be outraged, call the school & demand justice. Their number is 703-941-1220. https://t.co/HADM4R26uN
— Simar (@sahluwal) September 26, 2019
