Story at a glance:
- A Black girl was arrested because of an offensive picture of an alleged bully.
- The girl is diagnosed with ADHD and only identified by the initials N.B.
- “My daughter and I are traumatized from these events and sure that there is no future for us at Honowai Elementary,” the mother wrote.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii is seeking half a million dollars in damages on behalf of a Black 10-year-old girl who drew a cartoon some found offensive.
A bullied Black girl at Honowai Elementary School on Oahu drew a portrait of one of her alleged aggressors in January 2020. When the parent of the alleged bully saw the picture, she demanded the police get involved.
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The Black girl, who is diagnosed with ADHD and only identified by the initials N.B., got arrested and taken to a station – the Pearl City Police Station.
According to the report by the ACLU, Business Insider cited, N.B. was handcuffed in front of her classmates, taken into custody, and interrogated by law enforcement without her mother present.
N.B. did not get charged with anything, and she got released to her mother, Tamara Taylor.
“A parent of one of the kids who received this drawing, was very upset and essentially demanded that they call the police,” Mateo Caballero, an attorney for the child’s family, told Hawaii News Now.
“She didn’t bring any weapons to school, she didn’t make any explicit threats to anyone,” he added.
“That’s just straight up wrong,” ACLU of Hawaii Legal Director Wookie Kim told Hawaii News Now. “And there’s nothing that condones or justifies that.”
Keith Hui, who serves as the Leeward District Complex Area superintendent, which includes Honowai Elementary School, could not be reached for comment by Insider. A Hawaii Department of Education rep also declined to comment.
Initially, Taylor was blocked from seeing her child, and Taylor, herself, got detained at the school, according to the DailyMail.
“I was stripped of my rights as a parent and my daughter was stripped of her right of protection and representation as a minor. There was no understanding of diversity, African American culture and the presence of police involvement with African-American youth,” Taylor wrote in a letter to the school a few days later.
“My daughter and I are traumatized from these events and sure that there is no future for us at Honowai Elementary. I’m disheartened to know that this day will live with [N.B.] as a memory forever,” she added.
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