COLUMBIA, S.C. — A Midlands school district is now facing a lawsuit over a school board member’s comments about a Black History Month event at a local high school.

The lawsuit was filed against the Lexington 1 school district on May 15, after school board member Katie McCown criticized River Bluff High School’s annual Black History Month fashion show in a Facebook post earlier this year. McCown called the student-run, on-campus event “vulgar” and “ghetto” in since-deleted social media comments.

In the suit, mother Fynale Barnwell said those comments were traumatic for her daughter Marissa, one of the students who participated in the fashion show in late February. McCown’s comments led to “public targeting, humiliation, and emotional harm inflicted upon her child,” the suit claims.

“The school board member published images of students without consent on a public platform, exposing them to public ridicule, harassment, and humiliation,” the lawsuit says. “The school board member acted under color of their authority as a School Board member, amplifying the reach and impact of her statements.”

The suit, filed by attorney Monier Abusaft of Gaffney, South Carolina, claims Lexington failed “to supervise and control a board member,” failed “to enforce student privacy and protection policies,” and failed “to act upon knowledge of harmful conduct.” The lawsuit asks a Lexington County court to award unspecified damages.

It’s not clear what action the school district can take over McCown’s comments, which were posted to the Facebook page of her school board campaign. At a public forum on March 19, other board members said that any board member is free to speak on any issue they want, and the rest of the board doesn’t have a mechanism to censor their opinions.

School board members are elected officials accountable to the voters. Under state law, only the governor can remove an elected school board member, and only then when evidence arises of criminal conduct.

After McCown’s comments faced public backlash, the Lexington 1 school board attempted to hold a specially-called board meeting on March 19 to receive “legal advice regarding board member conduct” in a closed-door session. The River Bluff students and their supporters rallied in front of the school district headquarters in Lexington.

But most of the board stayed away from that meeting, which was ultimately canceled due to the lack of a quorum. The three board members who did show up later said they went ahead and meet with the attorney privately.

School board chair Kathy Henson said in a statement at the time that “Individual board members have the right to express personal opinions. However, those views do not necessarily represent the position of the Lexington County School District One Board of Trustees or Lexington County School District One.”

Board policy gives the superintendent the power to manage the district, Henson said at the time, including working with schools around concerns about school activities. Board members should refer those concerns to the superintendent to be addressed, she said.

This isn’t Barnwell’s first lawsuit involving the school district. Marissa Barnwell was previously the plaintiff in a suit against Lexington 1 when she said a teacher stopped her in the hallway at River Bluff in 2022 when she didn’t stop as the Pledge of Allegiance was recited over the school intercom. She claimed she was assaulted and that the school had violated her free speech right not to participate in the pledge.

The family received a $75,000 settlement from the school district in that case last year, court records show.

_____

©2026 The State. Visit at thestate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.