Midlands school board member speaks out on Black History Month controversy
A forum for school board members to hear from the community became the venue for several African American students to express their displeasure with one school board member’s comments elsewhere.
Students from River Bluff High School held the floor for most of a meeting at Lexington High School on Thursday for community members to meet with the Lexington 1 school board, calling out Facebook comments that criticized students’ performance in a Black History Month fashion show.
In since deleted posts, board member Katie McCown had described the show as a “disgusting,” “disgraceful display” that showcased “vulgar and ghetto behavior.”
River Bluff senior Eric Lee organized the Black History Month fashion show, which been running with student participation for five years.
“When I first saw it, my reaction was nonchalant, because I didn’t know how to process it. I thought, ‘Am I going to get in trouble?’” Lee told The State earlier. “I was confused, but then as I read it, I thought, oh yeah this is crazy.”
Lee was featured prominently in photos McCown shared as part of her post. The high schooler said he had a visceral reaction to seeing his image next to the descriptions McCown used.
“As the only gay Black male expressing hyper-femininity, this is not new. I’ve been fighting that all four years” of high school, Lee said. “But the fact that it was coming from a grown woman rather than a bunch of teenagers, that’s what really got me.”
“It really hurt my feelings because I felt like I had built such a bridge for other LGBT and Black boys in our school, and as soon as she saw that I built my own space at the table, she said ‘I’ll bring that down.’”
River Bluff junior Ethan Orr said at Thursday’s meeting students look to the administration and school board for support, not to be publicly attacked for their efforts.
“That language used toward students leaves a mark, and I’ve seen that mark on my peers here,” Orr said.
Other board members commiserated with the students’ experience, but McCown herself waited until the end of the meeting to speak.
“It was not my intention to cause hurt or target any group of students,” McCown said, reading from a prepared statement. “My focus was on addressing concerns that were brought to me regarding what took place during the event and whether it reflected the standards we want upheld in our schools.
“Looking back I would make sure my words expressed those concerns in a more measured and thoughtful way,” she said. “At the same time, I will continue to take seriously my role in listening to families and raising questions when concerns are brought forward... It really truly was not my intention to make you feel hurt or singled out or ever make it any kind of racial issue, and I realize that’s what you feel because of the words that I chose.”
Only when another participant asked McCown to say so directly did the board member say “I am sorry.”
Other parents and district residents raised other school-related issues, but many praised the students for speaking out and steered the conversation back to their experience.
“The expectations of what Black culture is supposed to be did not get met,” Marissa Barnwell, creative director for the fashion show and leader of the River Bluff student group Amplify Black Voices, said to The State. “We’re representing the culture that exists today, and if you don’t keep up with trends in the Black community and only see things through the media, through their own interpretation in the media, then there’s a disconnect with what we’re supposed to be doing.”
Barnwell wanted an apology from McCown, but after the senior was previously involved in a lawsuit against the district after she was stopped in a River Bluff hallway during the Pledge of Allegiance, “I know public apologies are not really what they do.”
“I would also demand they take some kind of multicultural training, so they know about diversity and people’s culture and how to be more appropriate when addressing it,” she said. “To have these things they have to frequently do would be a good thing.”
Board members stressed that there was little they could do about McCown’s conduct. Any board member is free to speak on any issue they want, and only the governor can remove an elected school board member, and only then when evidence arises of criminal conduct.
Board member Mike Anderson said McCown has been a very productive member since she joined the board in 2022, and she and her family have faced threats since the controversy over the posts erupted.
“I don’t think there was any ill intent” behind the posts, Anderson said. “We’re in the education business, and a part of that is making mistakes and learning from them... Let’s bury this. I’m not saying we should turn a blind eye, but let’s find a way to move on.”
Chris Rice, the only Black member of the Lexington 1 board, told the students “I’ve experienced things that have made me feel the way you feel, and it’s debilitating to feel like there’s nobody there.”
“You don’t have the ways adults learn how to shield ourselves and heal ourselves, and the first step to healing is an apology,” he said.
Afterwards, the students weren’t entirely satisfied with McCown’s comments. Barnwell called them “performative.”
“The comments were made March 1, it is now March 19, and it took this long to even say that,” she said.
Lee said the forum felt “one-sided” before McCown’s comments. But he still felt a sense of catharsis discussing the pain of the experience in public.
“I’m grateful that I had a place to speak,” Lee said. “I tried to say it in the most respectful way I could... it was good just to be able to see her and speak it to her.”
Orr hoped the meeting would allow for more dialogue between the district and Amplify Black Voices.
“I feel like the more people listen and here, then it can’t really be covered up or pushed aside,” he said. “We can get to a better place if that continues.”
This story was originally published March 20, 2026 at 7:15 AM.
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