Amari Allen, a Black sixth-grader who attends the private Immanuel Christian School in Fairfax, Va., has now acknowledged that the allegations she made against three classmates were false, Stephen Danish, the head of the school confirmed in an emailed statement to ESSENCE on Monday.
Last week, Amari’s story made national headlines after she accused three white classmates of pinning her down and cutting her dreadlocks while calling her hair “nappy” and “ugly.”
“We’re grateful to the Fairfax County Police Department for their diligent work to investigate these allegations,” Danish said in the statement. “While we are relieved to hear the truth and bring the events of the past few days to a close, we also feel tremendous pain for the victims and the hurt on both sides of this conflict. We recognize that we now enter what will be a long season of healing.”
“This ordeal has revealed that we as a school family are not immune from the effects of deep racial wounds in our society. We view this incident as an opportunity to be part of a learning and healing process, and we will continue to support the students and families involved,” the statement added.
The Allen family also released a statement through the school and apologized to those involved in the allegations, including the boys and their parents, the school and the community that rallied behind the 12-year-old, outraged on her behalf.
“We understand there will be consequences, and we’re prepared to take responsibility for them,” the family added in its statement. “We know that it will take time to heal, and we hope and pray that the boys, their families, the school and the broader community will be able to forgive us in time.”
Danish’s statement did not include any possible disciplinary actions against Amari.