‘Vile and sickening’ mailer targets a Midlands teacher in an election campaign attack
The latest election mailer in a contentious Midlands school board election targets an individual teacher by name for teaching a book on race.
Residents in the Lexington-Richland 5 school district this week received mailers that targeted Chapin High School English teacher Mary Wood, and endorsed school board candidates Jason Baynham, Catherine Huddle and Ken Loveless.
The mailer is sent from the Defeating Communism PAC, and has “Controversy is Rearing Around Our Schools” at the top next to a photo of Wood. The mailer features headlines from local and national publications about Wood’s lesson teaching the memoir “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates in recent years, along with a 2014 essay Coates wrote for The Atlantic headlined “The Case for Reparations.”
Under Wood’s photo is a quote she made during a media interview about the controversy, saying that “I had no concerns about teaching this lesson. I had vetted it before.” Alongside the teacher’s photo is the slogan “It’s time to put parents back in the driver’s seat.”
The district drew media attention locally and nationally when school officials blocked Wood from teaching the acclaimed book on race in America in 2023, over concerns it violated a state budget proviso prohibiting the teaching of concepts associated with “critical race theory.” The author himself visited a Lexington-Richland 5 school board meeting with Wood where his book was discussed, and Coates wrote about the episode in his latest book, “The Message,” as an example of how conflict shapes stories. Wood was permitted to teach the book again during the 2023-24 school year.
The mailer has raised concern among teachers that a lesson plan would be the subject of a political attack in a campaign. Wood told The State she was so upset by the mailer that she pulled her children out of the district’s schools.
“I’m worried for the safety of my family and my colleagues and students in the district,” she said in a text message.
Tess Pratt, the chair of the English department at Chapin High, said receiving the flier felt like a “punch in the gut.”
“No teacher should see her photo plastered on a political mailer sent out by a group with the word ‘communist’ in its name,” Pratt said. “The implications are absurd. ... This is flat-out irresponsible and dangerous.”
Pratt said she supports Wood and believes in her commitment to what’s best for Chapin High students.
“Mary Wood is quite literally one of the strongest people I have ever known,” Pratt said. “I spoke with Mary yesterday right after she saw this flier, and through the tears, her first concern was for her students.”
The three candidates endorsed by Defeating Communism did not respond Tuesday to requests for comment from The State, but Loveless posted to his campaign Facebook account Tuesday that he was not responsible for a mailing by an outside group.
“I have no say in the mail that has been received at homes from that group — or any other ways that they get involved in the campaign. I am not allowed to converse with them,” the candidate wrote. “I have never issued a single attack during this campaign, and I have focused on the issues. Any distractions to the campaign are unfortunate, but I will continue to stress our focus on teacher compensation and administrative support, workforce development and contractual expertise.”
Records from the campaign finance tracker OpenSecrets shows that Defeating Communism PAC received a $14,000 donation from Loveless’ wife Jondy Loveless on Sept. 16, and a $1,000 donation from Baynham on Sept. 7.
“I contributed to an organization to support my campaign,” Baynham said in a Facebook post. “I had no knowledge of what would be published. ... I do not condone attacks, printed or verbal against anyone. I have run a positive campaign since the beginning of the year.
“It’s unfortunate this mailer has taken the focus off the issue-driven campaign I have run,” Baynham said. “We have a very important election ahead and need to remain focused on why we are all running — make this district the best possible one we can for our students, teachers and community.”
Huddle also issued a statement on Facebook.
“Last night l learned that a mailer from a PAC was sent to some people in our district,” she said. “I have no relationship with the PAC and don’t control what they do.”
The state’s teachers associations condemned the mailer as an attack that would only hurt educators.
“It’s just one more example of attacking great teachers,” said Sherry East, the president of the South Carolina Education Association. “She’s trying to teach her students to think outside the box, to think about living from a Black person’s perspective. The racism is just right in your face.”
She said the political pressures that have been imposed on South Carolina teachers by demands to curtail lessons on race and sexuality will only add to the difficulty of filling teaching positions in the midst of a statewide teacher shortage.
“I hope the community will rally around her again,” East said of Wood’s situation. “Teachers should not have to live in fear from politics and politicians and the hate that has become part of the political landscape in South Carolina.”
Patrick Kelly, director of government affairs with the Palmetto State Teachers Association, said school boards should not be dictating the lesson plans of individual teachers.
“Their job is to craft policies to provide the highest quality education to students, and no policy is more important than to have highly qualified teachers in school districts,” Kelly said, adding that political attacks can only undermine that goal.
“If I’m running for school board and someone mails something like that on my candidacy, my obligation is to publicly denounce that mailer,” Kelly said. “Silence makes them complicit in it until they disavow its content.”
Scott Herring, who is running for one of two seats representing Lexington County on the school board along with Huddle and Loveless, denounced the mailer on his own Facebook page.
“This is totally vile and sickening. If my name appeared on something so awful, I would have already denounced it,” Herring said, calling on the three candidates endorsed by the mailing to do so. “This mailer has threatened the safety of a D5 teacher, her family, and her children, who are current D5 students. This mailer is abhorrent and should be condemned by all.”
Mike Ward, who is running against Baynham for the one Richland County seat up for election this year, also commented on the mailer on Facebook.
“Teachers should be respected for their work in shaping our children’s minds, not used as pawns for political gain,” Ward said. “As someone who values civil discourse and thoughtful discussion, I strongly denounce this type of attack on our educators. I invite my opponent to join me in standing up for our teachers and rejecting harmful political tactics.”
This story was originally published October 30, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
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