# So Are We Going To Talk About Amari Allen Or Nah?



## Crackers Phinn (Oct 1, 2019)

Girl accuses classmates of cutting off her dreadlocks, later recants her story

_Editor's Note: The girl who accused her classmates of cutting off her dreadlocks has since recanted her story. The head of Immanuel Christian School also confirmed the allegations were false. Below is the original story, which was published on September 28:_

A black middle school student from Virginia is accusing three white boys of pinning her down and cutting off her dreadlocks. The incident took place at Immanuel Christian School — where Vice President Mike Pence's wife, Karen Pence, is a teacher. 

Amari Allen, a 12-year-old student at the private K-12 Christian school, said the boys called her dreadlocks "ugly" and "nappy" before cutting them off on the playground during recess.

"They kept laughing and calling me names," Amari told CBS affiliate WUSA-TV, tearing up. "They called me 'ugly,' said, 'I shouldn't have been born.' They called me 'an attention-seeker.'"

According to WUSA, one of the boys allegedly covered Amari's mouth while another held her hands behind her back and a third took a pair of scissors to her dreadlocks. 






Amari didn't tell her family about the incident until after her grandmother noticed the length of her hair had changed.  WUSA-TV
"They ran off laughing, and I was just sitting there," Amari said.

The alleged incident occurred on Monday, but the shy preteen said she didn't tell her family about it until Wednesday, after her grandmother noticed her hair looked different. She feared retaliation if she confessed the truth, she said.

"It's very painful," said Cynthia Allen, Amari's grandmother. "I want to see them dismissed from the school. I want to see something done."

Allen's family pays nearly $12,000 per year for Amari to attend the school, which made headlines earlier this year after Karen Pence took an art teaching job at the famously anti-LGBTQ institution.

"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," Immanuel Christian School said in a statement. "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. 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."

While the school has a zero-tolerance policy for bullying, Amari said the boys had previously tormented her. She said that the boys have taken her lunch and called her names in the past.

Amari's family met with school officials Thursday, and the investigation is ongoing.

First published on September 26, 2019 / 10:41 PM


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## Crackers Phinn (Oct 1, 2019)

There are theories floating around that the family has been paid by the boys parents to recant the story.   There's theories that the girl was sick of the locs but wasn't allowed to cut them herself.


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## janaq2003 (Oct 1, 2019)

I called shenanigans on the initial complaint. There is def more to this story


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## OhTall1 (Oct 1, 2019)

This is a local story here but I didn't see the girl being interviewed until I watched the news this morning.  Something about her telling of the story seemed...off.  I couldn't put my finger on why I felt that way and actually felt bad about it.  I wasn't surprised to hear that she's saying it wasn't true.


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## Theresamonet (Oct 2, 2019)

But why?


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## Black Ambrosia (Oct 2, 2019)

Idk what to think but I’m trying to imagine how much I’d have to receive as a parent to go along with recanting the story. It would have to be a significant sum and she’d have to never be in another class with those boys again.


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## momi (Oct 2, 2019)

I'm naturally suspicious but didn't really blink at her story.  I actually believed her...  

Oh well - I guess the family just wanted their 5 minutes.


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## TrulyBlessed (Oct 2, 2019)




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## dancinstallion (Oct 2, 2019)

I hadn't heard of this.


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## momi (Oct 2, 2019)

TrulyBlessed said:


>



Jussie needs to seek medical help.


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## intellectualuva (Oct 2, 2019)

TrulyBlessed said:


>




Wow. Wasn't expecting him to continue to go so hard.

That said, I think the girl was either paid off or did it out of frustration and needed a cover story. Either way, its not a good look. I wonder if these kinds of stories will impact future prospects in the future. Like in the year 2040, when your resume and a printout of your internet history or something will be apart of the process.


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## meka72 (Oct 2, 2019)

janaq2003 said:


> I called shenanigans on the initial complaint. There is def more to this story


Yeah something about this story didn't sound right when I first read the story.


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## Theresamonet (Oct 2, 2019)

Black Ambrosia said:


> Idk what to think but I’m trying to imagine how much I’d have to receive as a parent to go along with recanting the story. It would have to be a significant sum and she’d have to never be in another class with those boys again.



It would have to be a life changing amount of money. And even for that, I would not have my daughter recant her story. I’d be willing to say that we just want to put this behind us, move on with our lives, and we won’t be seeking any further recourse, etc. This is what I’d do/say even if I found out my child lied. They don’t sound like a poor & needy family, so I can’t imagine why they’d ruin their daughter's name and reputation or allow her to.


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## dancinstallion (Oct 3, 2019)

Theresamonet said:


> It would have to be a life changing amount of money. And even for that, I would not have my daughter recant her story. I’d be willing to say that we just want to put this behind us, move on with our lives, and we won’t be seeking any further recourse, etc. This is what I’d do/say even if I found out my child lied. They don’t sound like a poor & needy family, so I can’t imagine why they’d ruin their daughter's name and reputation or allow her to.



I would say the exact same thing. We wouldn't be recanting anything but I will say I just want to move on.


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## GreenEyedJen (Oct 8, 2019)

Theresamonet said:


> It would have to be a life changing amount of money. And even for that, I would not have my daughter recant her story. I’d be willing to say that we just want to put this behind us, move on with our lives, and we won’t be seeking any further recourse, etc. This is what I’d do/say even if I found out my child lied. They don’t sound like a poor & needy family, so I can’t imagine why they’d ruin their daughter's name and reputation or allow her to.



Exactly. The article says the family pays $12k for her to go to the school, so they didn't "need" anything. And, this will definitely affect her future prospects either way. Elite high schools look at what happened when you attended an elite middle/elementary school to make their decision, you know? 

I went to Newtown Friends School in Newtown, PA. It was the feeder school for The George School. On the same campus and everything. Even those of us that went to NFS since kindergarten waited with baited breath for our acceptance letters to GS. It doesn't make sense to recant for any amount of money, honestly. It doesn't make sense to say she lied. It just...doesn't make any sense.


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