Bellevue 4th grader’s bully video goes viral

At the age of 9, Nasir Andrews has already achieved viral video success. Her recent Facebook video was viewed more than 12 million times within a week, but the topic is not worth celebrating. She was bullied at a Bellevue elementary school.

“At the beginning of the year, people were running away from me and didn’t want to play with me,” Nasir told The Dori Monson Show. “Some people were calling me ‘Nutella,’ hitting (me), taking my snacks. I told a principal, but he didn’t do anything.”

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“Nutella” is a reference to Nasir’s skin color. She told a teacher about it at Ardmore Elementary School, but was told that it wasn’t racist. Instead, Nasir was given an assignment — write down the definition of racism. The bullying didn’t end there. Over the course of her 4th grade year, Nasir said she was also called “servant” and was choked by another student.

“The kids would say, ‘Oh I’ll be your friend, but you have to do this and this for me to be your friend,’” she said. “I would have to do their homework or clean up after them.”

Parents Chantey and Travis Andrews moved their family up for Georgia last year. Nasir was the new kid in class. She didn’t have bullying problems until coming to Bellevue. Out of frustration, Nasir made a simple Facebook video. She sat quietly and told her story through a series of signs.  The family said they will not be returning to the school, perhaps not even the district, but Nasir wanted to make the video to draw attention to the bullying problem at Ardmore.

“When we made our attempts to approach (the school administration) verbally and in writing, there was a lack of overall empathy and accountability on a level that reflects they know they are responsible for the safety and well-being of your child during these hours,” Chantey said.

The Bellevue School District looked into the reports of bullying and concluded it was “unfortunate peer-to-peer interaction,” according to KIRO 7. The school district also gave a statement to KIRO 7:

We are saddened by the experience shared in the Facebook video you referenced. We are very concerned about the well-being of all of our students. We can assure you that district and central office leaders continue to work with the family to ensure that their daughter and every student at Ardmore is receiving the support they need. The harassment, intimidation and bullying of any student is unacceptable. In the case you referenced, an investigation into the allegations has been in process.