How SC school board member’s Black History Month comments set off a firestorm
On March 4, one Lexington 1 student emailed another from their school account. The email contained a photo of a social media post a Lexington 1 school board member made a few days earlier.
“Oh okay, I saw her post on instagram (sic) this morning,” the student responded. “My friend is posting about her all over his story. she’s all over my instagram stories.”
The names of the students were redacted in records disclosed in a Freedom of Information Act request. But the item they and their friends were seeing everywhere this spring was not a dull bit of school board business, but comments made by school board member Katie McCown about River Bluff High School’s Black History Month fashion show at the end of February.
McCown called the show “a disgraceful display that was both disgusting and disrespectful,” taking issue with how students in the show were dressed and a section where one participant tossed a handful of cash on stage. “It’s embarrassing to our district when we claim excellence that there are adults in the room championing this type of vulgar and ghetto behavior - throwing money and ‘twerking!’”
Those comments produced blowback at school board meetings from students who participated in the fashion show and their supporters. It even led to a lawsuit against the school district. But a Freedom of Information Act request from The State showed that behind the scenes, McCown’s comments also led to a flurry of comments from students, parents, board members and observers well outside of central Lexington County.
The week of the show at River Bluff, McCown forwarded a message she received from someone complaining about the event.
“I’m not usually a ‘Karen,’ but as a school board member and parent yourself, how do you feel about this ‘fashion show’ our kids at River Bluff were made to attend during the school day?! The clothing seemed very inappropriate and not within dress code,” the comment sent to McCown Feb. 28 said, with photos from the event attached and punctuated with a tongue-sticking-out emoji.
McCown forwarded the comment in a text message without identifying the sender to another individual not identified in the release, adding “I’m beyond frustrated. Can we please just educate the children?!”
Later, River Bluff Principal Jacob Smith responded to the complaint in another text to an unidentified recipient, saying the annual show was held in the gym during the lunch period and that students were not required to attend.
“Prior to the event, I spoke with the student organizers and reminded them to remain within dress code expectations,” the principal said. “When I arrived, the show was already in progress. Stopping it mid-event would likely have created a larger disruption.”
He underscored how important the fashion show, a February tradition at the Lexington high school for a number of years now, has become to River Bluff’s African-American community.
“This particular event is important to many students, especially given that Black students on our campus are underrepresented and often express a desire for opportunities to celebrate their culture and identity,” Smith said. “Many students felt seen and celebrated during the event. Most of (sic) following dress code however, these images definitely were not.”
Smith said he had already had conversations with students and staff about “clearer expectations and stronger supervision moving forward.”
“Opinions differ for sure however,” the principal wrote. “It’s tough.”
But later that same day, Smith was sent a screen grab of McCown’s comments on Facebook.
“I’m happy to call her,” he said. “Not sure how she got the pictures we didn’t put those out. Thank you for the heads up.”
The fallout from the post can be seen by March 1, school board chair Kathy Henson sent a text to someone to alert them that McCown was speaking to the school district’s attorney for legal advice.
“Her kids were being threatened based off her post so she deleted things (which is something we just got sued for within the last 2 years) then got confronted by a district teacher referencing the Supreme Court and freedom of speech,” Henson said. “100+ people were commenting against her, groups were saying they were coming to the next meeting, people were requesting the board censure her...”
On March 2, McCown sent a copy of her post in an email to the superintendent, school district attorney and the public information officer.
By the following week, Henson had tried to call a board meeting for members to hear “legal advice,” which the school board confirmed in a statement to The State was related to McCown’s comments. The meeting was never held due to a lack of a quorum, but Henson’s statement resulted in an angry email to board members from McCown’s husband, Michael McCown.
“I am deeply concerned about statements attributed to the Board Chair have been presented publicly in a way that reads as though they reflect the official position of the Board of Trustees when my understanding is that the board as a whole did not approve that statement and does not unanimously agree with it,” he wrote. “If that is correct, the public has been given the impression that the board collectively adopted a position that was never formally authorized.” He reiterated that his family has faced “threats and harassment” in the week since the post
“These threats are not hypothetical,” he said. “Police reports have been filed with Sheriff Koon. In addition, some of our family friends, including African American students within this district who agreed that the event made them uncomfortable, have themselves been threatened for expressing that view. This is unacceptable and should concern every member of district leadership.”
A report was filed with the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department on March 2 saying McCown received a voicemail from an unknown number with no caller ID. The caller allegedly said, “People can easily find where you are, you’re a representative of the school board... If you want to see disgusting, revolting displays, they would show you.”
Back on March 1, a student had written directly to Smith on what the subject line called the “Fashion show aftermath.”
“I email you as an envoy regarding the post made by Katie McCrown (sic)” the email said. “many black students are currently outraged and seeking justice, my goal is to have someone in power fight this battle on our behalf, only because if we pursue this things will most certainly end in a manner that is much less civil.”
The principal responded, “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I am so sorry that this is happening,” he said. “Please stop by my office tomorrow at 8:30 AM. I would like to hear your thoughts and discuss this matter with you further.”
The comments also generated outside emails. One person emailed Superintendent Keith Price from a Yahoo account with multiple photo attachments in reference to the posts, while Chris Rice, the only Black member of the Lexington 1 school board, also received an email from an outside Gmail account.
“This is your coworker who you stand beside on pictures in Lexington district 1,” the email said. “Katie McCowen (sic). There was no remorse for her actions. She only took the post down because a family member asked her to do so.”
Several board members were contacted by Change.org, the online petition platform, when a petition against McCown appeared on that site.
“This petition calls for the removal of Katie McCown from her position on the Lexington One Board of Education due to her public criticism of a Black History Month fashion show at River Bluff High School, which has been labeled as racist and discriminatory,” the email says. “Signers believe her action not only undermine the students’ right to free expression but also foster a hostile environment, making her an unsuitable representative for the district.”
Under state law, only the governor can remove an elected school board member, and only then when evidence arises of criminal conduct.
That didn’t matter to the more than 700 people who ultimately signed the petition.
This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 8:15 AM.
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