September 26, 2019

Sixth-Grade Boys Allegedly Attack, Cut Girl’s ‘Ugly’ Dreadlocks at Private Christian School
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Courtesy Cynthia AllenAmari Allen was about to use the slide at the Immanuel Christian School playground on Monday when three white classmates appeared. Within “seconds,” the 12-year-old said, she was pushed down, her hands held behind her back as the boys called her names and cut off patches of her “ugly, nappy” dreadlocks. “One of the boys put his hand over my mouth so I wouldn’t scream while they used scissors on my hair,” she recalled to The Daily Beast on Thursday. "They were all laughing, calling me ugly, and saying I should have never been born.”The alleged assault only lasted “a minute or two” before the bell rang to signal the end of recess, the sixth grader said. The three boys took off running to go into their math class while Amari stayed on the slide, trying to collect herself before following behind. “They ran off laughing, and I was just sitting there,” the soft-spoken teenager said. “I’m hurt that it happened. All I want to ask them is, Why?”The Monday afternoon racist attack at the private Immanuel Christian School—an already controversial school where Karen Pence, the second lady of the United States, teaches art class part-time—has “destroyed” the Allen family, and they are now seeking legal and administrative retributions. Courtesy of Cynthia AllenAmari’s mother, Cynthia Allen, told The Daily Beast that the family met with school officials on Thursday morning to demand the three boys be removed and updated policies be put into place to ensure “this doesn’t happen again.” Allen also said Amari filed a police report. “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. We are deeply disturbed by the allegations being made, and are in communication with the family of the alleged victim to gather information and provide whatever support we can,” the school said in a statement to The Daily Beast. “We have also reached out to law enforcement to ask them to conduct a thorough investigation, and further inquiries should be directed to the Fairfax County Police Department.”“All I am asking for is this to be resolved, if they can’t leave school, then I will,” Amari said. Her mother agreed, adding, “She’s in real pain but she wants justice.”The 53-year-old mom said it took two days for Amari to finally admit the attack even happened. At first, the 12-year-old told her mother that the missing parts of her hair were the result of playing “beauty salon” with another friend. “We continued to press her on it because it just didn’t sound like something she would do,” Cynthia Allen said. “Then she started breaking down crying, trembling, and shaking before telling us what happened.”Amari said she “instantly felt better” when she told her family about how the three sixth-grade boys pinned her down on the playground. She said while one boy covered her mouth, a second boy put her hands behind her back, and a third boy cut her dreadlocks while calling her names.“They called her ‘ugly,’ told her she was an ‘attention seeker,’ called her hair ‘nappy,’ all of these horrible things,” her mother said. “And when they ran away laughing, she just had to sit there and get herself together.” Amari admitted she initially denied that anyone cut her hair out of fear of retaliation. The three boys—including one that used to be her friend—are in six of her classes and she said she was afraid they “would come after me.”“They had scissors, so they could have done anything to me,” the sixth grader said. “I was afraid if I told the teacher they wouldn’t care.”Amari’s mom explained that this was not the first time her daughter had been subjected to bullying by these three classmates. Throughout the school year, the boys have allegedly been “taking her lunch every single day and calling her names.”“My concern is, how did they not see what was taking place, on the playground and all year,” Allen said. “Karen Pence, the vice president’s wife, works at the school. There is security and secret service everywhere. How did they not know!”The Immanuel Christian School, which enrolls kindergartners through eighth graders at its campus in Springfield, Virginia, has been previously embroiled in controversy after its school banned LGBT students and demanded all employees affirm the belief that marriage should only be between a man and a woman.According to The New York Times, the school’s employment application requires prospective teachers to describe their faith and sign their initials next to a list of beliefs, including Immanuel Christian’s definition of marriage and stances on sexual identity.“I understand that the term ‘marriage’ has only one meaning; the uniting of one man and one woman,” the application reads, detailing that certain “moral misconduct” considered disqualifying includes “heterosexual activity outside of marriage (e.g., premarital sex, cohabitation, extramarital sex), homosexual or lesbian sexual activity, polygamy, transgender identity, any other violation of the unique roles of male and female.”Pence, 62, has had a long history with the school, having taught from 2001 to 2013 while her husband served in Congress. And in December, the second lady decided to return twice a week to the private school as an art teacher. Cynthia Allen said despite the school’s recent controversies, she is more concerned with its future and said she is planning to speak to administrators further about preventing another racist attack. But for now, she said, Amari will not return to school. “Amari is surviving, but this can’t happen again,” she said. “She is terrified, she has not been able to sleep. And she is strong, I can’t imagine if this happened to somebody else.”
Related Stories
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Media
SkyPixel 9th Annual Photo & Video Contest Winners Announced
Mar 19, 2024
Competition Receives a Record Number of Submissions that Highlight the Power of Innovation SHENZHEN, China, March 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- SkyPixel, one of the world's most popular online communities for aerial photography and videography, today announces the winners of the SkyPixel 9th Annual Photo & Video Contest. Co-organized with DJI, this year's competition attracted over 130,000 submissions – a 100% increase from the previous year. The contest welcomed submissions from across the creator community, which includes professionals, aerial enthusiasts, and creative newcomers, showcasing their personal histories through the art of visual innovation. A Contest Shaped by You The SkyPixel Annual Photo & Video Contest is a testament to the power of innovation led imagery, honoring stories that shape the art of image capture both on solid ground and amidst the clouds. SkyPixel has cultivated a community-driven platform that reflects the dreams and aspirations of creators worldwide, and the annual competition has been a conduit for people who love image creation to express themselves as it authentically reflects the desires and aspirations of creators worldwide. Industry-Leading Judges The 9th Annual Photo & Video Contest was assessed by a Judging Panel of incredible professionals in the industry. In photography, seasoned experts include Wen Huang, a World Press Photo judge and Senior Editor, and Anne Farrar, Assistant Photography Chief Editor at National Geographic, Nan Li, the Photo Director of Southern Weekly, and Daniel Kordan, a renowned landscape photographer. In the video category, the judges include Michael Fitzmaurice, the Aerial Director of Photography of "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle," and Xiaoshi Zhao, known for his award-winning work on "Forever Enthralled." Bing Xi, a prominent figure in the Chinese TVC industry, and celebrated filmmaker Brandon Li round out the panel. After careful deliberation, the panel proudly presents the final winners for the year. 9th Annual Best Work Prize – Video: "Haines Alaska Through the Eyes of Luke Bredar" by Luke Bredar This year's video judging panel, which includes award-winning Cinematographers and Directors of Photography, chose Luke Bredar's video, "Haines Alaska Through the Eyes of Luke Bredar." This short film mixes heart-pounding action shots of a skier racing down a snowy mountaintop landscapes with breathtaking shots of Alaska's mountainous, winter terrain. Luke Bredar details the thought process behind the short film, "The motivation behind creating this video was to evoke themes of otherworldliness, objective risk, the interplay between risk and the essence of human spirit, solitude, impermanence, self-sufficiency, and the journey of incomplete wandering intertwined with heartbreak." This short film is an epic story made in collaboration with Matchstick Productions. Bredar explains how he pursues a better visual presentation through his creative process "I think to myself. How would my child self want to see this filmed? And I almost always get a clear vision in response. There are a myriad of challenges shooting aerial cinematography in mountain environments, but they are all ...Full story available on Benzinga.com
READ MORE
Watch It
Olivia Munn Reveals Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Double Mastectomy Procedure | E! News
March 13, 2024
kUaEV1Kd3S0
Travis Kelce Shares Details From His Trip to Singapore With Taylor Swift | E! News
March 13, 2024
3YXi-Dgf4eg
Kate Middleton VIRAL Photo: Agency Addresses Photoshop Claims | E! News
March 13, 2024
S4VkO0TpkCY
Da'Vine Joy Randolph Plays 'Smash or Pass' With Iconic Moments From Her Career
March 13, 2024
vkPdJEF2BX4
Jean Smart Wears a Hotel Bathrobe to Present an Award to Hannah Einbinder l Power of Comedy SxSW
March 12, 2024
Bw7uVEYQev4
Lenny Kravitz Walk of Fame Ceremony
March 12, 2024
MlWq8BcnwhE
Dak Prescott Extortion Plot & Steph Curry for President? | TMZ Sports Full Ep - 3/12/24
March 13, 2024
jHFsrjs7OFY
A Japanese space rocket blew up after takeoff Tuesday, turning the sky into a fireball of smoke.
March 13, 2024
YkfJ3Qg8B7c
#KimKardashian and #BiancaCensori hung out at #KanyeWest's listening party Tuesday night!
March 13, 2024
EfwLLq6bx9k
‘Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond denies using Ozempic to lose 60 pounds
March 13, 2024
Omfjk1AlZ3A
Chrissy Teigen reveals her ‘boob lift scars’ in daring dress at Jay-Z & Beyoncé’s Oscars 2024 party
March 13, 2024
VxZ2qXAlpmU
Zoë Kravitz pokes fun at dad Lenny Kravitz's style during Hollywood Walk of Fame speech
March 13, 2024
j3-lcFu_1sQ
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
SC Freiburg - Bayer Leverkusen
17
Mar
USA: Major League Soccer
Atlanta United - Orlando City
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
West Ham United - Aston Villa
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Rayo Vallecano - Real Betis
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Championship
Leeds - Millwall
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Las Palmas - Almeria
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Villarreal - Valencia
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Sevilla - Celta Vigo
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
11
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Chelsea - Newcastle United
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Liverpool - Manchester City
10
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Real Madrid - Celta Vigo
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Aston Villa - Tottenham Hotspur
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Atalanta
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Fiorentina - Roma
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
AC Milan - Empoli
09
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Werder Bremen - Borussia Dortmund
09
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Arsenal - Brentford
09
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Bologna - Inter Milan
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.