Black student, 12, says white classmates cut off her dreadlocks in attack
Immanuel Christian School is the same school where Second Lady Karen Pence, wife of Vice President Mike Pence, teaches part-time.
Friday 27 September 2019 17:13, UK
A black student has said her dreadlocks were cut off when she was attacked by three white classmates.
Amari Allen, a 12-year-old from Virginia, said the boys put their hands over her mouth as she tried to use the slide in the school playground.
The student said the boys called her hair "nappy" and "ugly" as they cut it off, and told her she should not have been born.
Amari said she had previously been bullied by the boys and that she thought she was being deliberately being attacked because of her race.
She told NBC4 Washington: "The boys came up to me, they ambushed me, sort of caged me in.
"They put their hands over my mouth, they put my hands behind my back, and they started cutting my hair and saying it was 'ugly'.
"I thought it was very hurtful and that no one should be treated that way."
Amari's grandparents have refused to send her back to the school until they take action.
Her grandfather spoke of the moment he found out about the attack.
"My heart just broke," he said. "I was just paralysed. I couldn't get myself together."
Amari's grandmother said she wanted justice, adding: "Consequences should be implemented so that the school will send a strong message - 'We will not tolerate this.'"
Immanuel Christian School is an evangelical Christian private school, the same place where Karen Pence, wife of US vice president Mike Pence, teaches part-time.
Principal Stephen Danish said that the school had a zero-tolerance policy for bullying, saying: "We are deeply disturbed by the allegations being made."
Police say they are investigating the incident.
The school has faced controversy regarding social issues before, as it explicitly bans LGBT+ people from applying for staff positions.
Applications say: "[Candidates must] understand that the term 'marriage' has only one meaning; the uniting of one man and one woman.
"Moral misconduct which violates the bona fide occupational qualifications for employees includes... homosexual or lesbian sexual activity... transgender identity [or] any other violation of the unique roles of male and female."
Karen Pence began teaching art two days a week at the school in January, and previously worked at the school for 12 years.