Girl alleges bullying, some racist, posts video, which goes viral

A Bellevue, Washington fourth grader who says she's been bullied since school started in September posted a video on Facebook hoping to get help for herself and other bullied students, reports CBS Seattle affiliate KIRO-TV.

The video's gone viral: It's been shared more than 17,500 times and reached more than 670,000 people.

Nasir Andrews, 9, says she was feeling desperate after months of telling teachers, administrators and the school district about her situation.

Andrews is finishing fourth grade at Ardmore Elementary School.

Andrews, who is black, said other students have called her "Nutella" and "servant".

"A student called me 'Nutella' and I told my after-school teacher and she said it wasn't racist and she made me write the definition of racist," Nasir told KIRO Wednesday.

Andrews says she was picked on for buying her lunch and laughed at on the school bus. Her parents got her a lunch box and let her bring her lunch some days, and started driving her to school every day.

She says students in her class would take her snack and eat it or throw it away. At recess she says, classmates ran away from her. She says she's been pushed, kicked and choked.

The girl and her family moved to Bellevue last summer from Georgia where, her parents say, she had no trouble making friends.

"Everybody in my class does not like me and I don't have any friends in my class or in the other fourth grade classes," Nasir says.

Chantey and Travis Andrews are upset the school didn't do more to help their daughter. They say they've complained to administrators for months.

"With so many things happening, our fear is there is a culture that has been established at the school where it is almost OK for the children to exercise different forms of treatment and bullying and harassment," Chantey Andrews says. "And there's not a conversation being had with them saying, 'No, this is unacceptable."'

In the video posted on Nasir's mother's Facebook page, the girl holds up cards with words on them to share her story.

"I think that we need to stop bullying and just know that if you're doing it, you're hurting people," Nasir said when asked about her motivation to make the video. She also came up with the hashtag #backdownbully.

The family says the district did investigate, adding that, in most instances, it was categorized as "unfortunate peer to peer interaction."

"I wish they would have paid more attention to the bigger picture. I think a lot of the incidents were taken individually and handled individually and if it was more of a broader picture, and they were able to connect more of the dots, we would have probably stopped this earlier in the year," Travis Andrews says.

Nasir is one of about 40 black students at Ardmore Elementary, which has large populations of Hispanic, Asian, and Indian students.

KIRO asked the Bellevue School District for an interview, and the district released the following statement: "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."

Nasir's family is deciding where to send her to school next year.