A group of Charleston advocates gathered at Seacoast Church in Mount Pleasant on April 2 in response to what some are calling a “right-wing takeover of the Charleston County School District” coordinated by people within the church, according to local attorney and activist William Hamilton.
Church leaders did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Lowcountry Up Is Good, a political action committee managed by Hamilton that has worked to move progressive issues forward in Charleston, conducted an informational picket outside the church on Palm Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Ten people stood near the church’s entrances to distribute flyers and speak with churchgoers about the political dealings they say the church has been conducting.
“We understand that this is unwelcome and unpleasant … but the alleged actions of this church are having a severe impact on the community and threatens to do more damage in the near future,” Hamilton said ahead of the meeting in a letter to the Mount Pleasant Police Department.
Ed Kelley, a new member of the Charleston County School Board, is a member of the church. He was also backed by conservative political group Moms for Liberty. The majority of sitting board members were also backed by this group.
Attendees to recent school board meetings called for Kelley’s resignation after comments some allege were politically motivated threats of violence came to light. One speaker at a March 27 meeting recalled a comment in which Kelley said he “would have shown up at the teacher’s house with a gun,” in reference to a transgender teacher.
Kelley could not be reached for comment by email. But in a statement made public, he said, “It is not within a teacher’s unilateral discretion to make statements about personal sexual choices to children without consulting school officials including the superintendent and principal (who in turn have a moral imperative to engage with parents),” In that public statement, Kelley added he would not step down from his position.
Meanwhile, Hamilton said he was pleased with the results of the protest.
“We got our message across to some people,” he said. “This isn’t going to be an instantaneous effort. The church thinks they can run our school district, and they now understand that they’re going to be confronted. … Several people asked me why I was there, and when I told them, they were utterly disgusted. They just didn’t know.”
Mount Pleasant police were on site throughout the picketing to ensure it ran smoothly and peacefully.
“Most of the people we ran into were very pleasant,” Hamilton told Charleston City Paper. “We had enough people to cover all three entrances to the building. The police were very supportive and careful. … Nobody had any serious problems.”
Hamilton said neither he nor any other member of the group heard from an official with Seacoast Church.
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