Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Young Black Girl Arrested In Front Of Class After Drawing Picture Of Her Bully That 'Upset' A Parent

Young Black Girl Arrested In Front Of Class After Drawing Picture Of Her Bully That 'Upset' A Parent
MoMo Productions/Getty Images

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is taking action against the Hawaii Department of Education (DOE) and the Honolulu Police Department (HPD), after a 10-year-old Black girl was arrested for a drawing in January of 2020.

As reported by Hawaii News Now, the girl in question—identified only as "N.B."—made a drawing of a fellow student who had been bullying her at Honowai Elementary School in Honolulu, Hawaii.


While what exactly N.B. drew has not been disclosed, the drawing reportedly made a parent "very upset", leading that parent to demand the school call the police.

According to a letter sent to the DOE by the ACLU, N.B, who suffers from ADHD, was subsequently detained and questioned without a parent present and then escorted from the school in handcuffs without being charged.

Wookie Kim, the Legal Director of the ACLU Hawaii, was outraged by the conduct of both the school and the HPD.

"That's just straight up wrong, and there's nothing that condones or justifies that."

When N.B's mother, Tamara Taylor, arrived at the school, she was prevented from seeing her daughter, who was eventually released to Taylor at the Pearl City Police Station.

Taylor filed a letter of grievance to both Honowai Elementary School, and Keith Hui, superintendent of Leeward District Complex Area.

"Although I was at Honowai Elementary, I was not told that my daughter was removed from the premises, handcuffed in front of staff and her peers, placed into a squad car and taken away"

Taylor was also open in her concerns over her Black daughter being questioned by the police without a parent present, particularly in light of the recent high profile instances of police brutality against Black people.

"I was stripped of my rights as a parent and my daughter was stripped of her right to protection and representation as a minor."
"There was no understanding of diversity, African-American culture and the history of police involvement with African-American youth."
My daughter and I are traumatized from these events and I'm disheartened to know that this day will live with my daughter forever."

The ACLU is seeking $500,000 in damages for Taylor and N.B, an amount some don't think is nearly enough.

On Twitter a number of people pointed out the fact N.B was bullied seemed to be of zero consequence to the school.









The ACLU's letter includes several demands for policy changes from both the DOE and the HPD, including forbidding school staff from calling the police unless there is an "imminent threat of significant harm", consulting with a school counselor before calling the police and making it mandatory for a parent or guardian to be present when a minor is being questioned.

In a statement given to Insider, the HPD said they were reviewing the ACLU's letter and "will be working with Corporation Counsel to address these allegations."

Tommy Aiu, a retired federal agent living in Honolulu told Hawaii News Now the HPD followed protocol, as the DOE called them and they had to act on the call.

"HPD must act on the complaint levied by the school and that's why the child was taken into technical custody to the station then released to her parents."

Though Aiu also made it abundantly clear he believed N.B was badly mistreated and the police should never have been brought in on the matter.

"Those kind of things should happen and get resolved at the school level because again, the pipeline to prison is not a good methodology."
"Absent of an actual threat, the school should try and work out, maybe a better way, a better path for the child."

The DOE has yet to comment on the ACLU's letter.

As reported by The Associated Press N.B. left Hawaii following the incident to live with relatives on the mainland.

Taylor remained in Hawaii to continue her job at the Department of Defense, before eventually joining N.B. and leaving Hawaii as well.

More from Trending

People Share The Survival Tips That Actually Saved Their Lives

Surviving life is difficult.

And I'm talking about just the basics.

Keep ReadingShow less
House party
Xavier Lorenzo/Getty Images

Gen Z Asks Reddit If '90s House Parties Really Existed Like In The Movies—And The Responses Are Everything

Whether they lived it or not, people everywhere love '80s, '90s, and early 2000s nostalgia. The way the times were portrayed in music and movies made people especially fascinated by the lore, curious if the atmospheres were embellished or real things that could have happened.

On the "GenX" subReddit, a Gen Z Redditor came forward, curious if the house party scenes that were common in '90s and early 2000s films were actually something that happened or if they were simply fabricated by Hollywood—and the subReddit did not disappoint.

Keep ReadingShow less
Customer paying for restaurant meal
Olga Rolenko/Getty Images

Restaurant Server Sparks Debate After Calling Out Instagram Food Influencer Who Left 'Really Bad Tip'

Instagram food influencer Asia White, who often describes herself as "foodie, bougie, and opinionated," shared an unflinching reaction to her visit to Ètra, a small and quaint Italian restaurant in East Hollywood—and her followers have thoughts about it.

White visited the restaurant and sat at a table up against a wall toward the back of the restaurant, where she rated the atmosphere, the food, and the staff.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @young.tropical's TikTok video; Taco Bell sign
@young.tropical/TikTok; Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

TikToker Shares Video Of Shockingly Messy Kitchen At Taco Bell—But Viewers Are Divided

We've all experienced long wait times at a fast food restaurant and have to appreciate the irony of it being called "fast food."

But a really quick way to lose your appetite and to not even want to wait anymore is to see a dirty kitchen.

Keep ReadingShow less