School advocates are calling for Charleston County School Board Vice Chair and District 5 representative Carlotte Bailey of North Charleston to resign after she was allegedly recorded saying “there’s no such thing as gay children.”
Critics also complained that Bailey, a Black woman, was not adequately representing the Black community. The North Charleston-centric district she represents is majority Black.
Bailey, one of the five board members backed by right-wing political group Moms For Liberty (M4L), did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The majority board faction has been involved in a recent controversy after voting to place new superintendent Eric Gallien on administrative leave on Sept. 25.
Elvin Speights of Charleston said he met with Bailey on Oct. 3 after she reached out to him. He said she gave no reason for the meeting other than that “God wanted” her to speak with him. Upon arriving at North Palm Church, Bailey’s church in North Charleston and the location of the meeting, Speights said there were two men and another woman present. He then said he decided to record the conversation for his own protection.
South Carolina is a one-party consent state, meaning Speights did not need Bailey’s permission to record the conversation. The recordings could not be independently verified, but the voice sounded like Bailey’s to anyone who has attended school board meetings.
“I wasn’t going to say anything at first, but I realized this is bigger than me,” Speights said during a Monday morning press conference. “This is a woman who is making decisions for children. … Someone had to say something.
“Either she can step down, or the governor needs to remove her, but she is clearly not fit to be making decisions for our children,” he added. “Our elected officials are supposed to govern by the constitution, not by their religious beliefs or false or alternative facts.”
Dixon said that if he were in Bailey’s shoes, he would step down, as it is the right thing to do.
“Right now, we need to make sure Ms. Bailey understands that her presence on the Charleston County School District Board of Trustees is no longer needed, wanted, accepted, nor will it be tolerated,” the Rev. Thomas Dixon said during the press conference.
“When Ms. Bailey was elected to the [Charleston County School District (CCSD)] Board, she was supposed to be a voice for the people of her district,” Dixon said in a statement. “But it’s obvious that she is on a mission to promote and infect the CCSD school system with her own prejudicial beliefs, and anything that doesn’t line up with her interpretation of religious principles, in her opinion, is wrong.”
Bailey criticizes Black, LGBTQ communities
In the first of seven recordings released by Speights, Bailey can be heard saying, “I won’t be used by the Black community.”
Speights interpreted: “What she said was that she felt like Black leaders were calling on her to try to influence her vote,” Speights said during the press conference. “She also made it very clear that she would not be used by the Black community. This is troublesome because Carlotte is the District 5 elected representative — her district is majority Black.”
Bailey also reportedly said in a recording she took issue with Gay Pride month and other LGBTQ issues, as well as the idea that systemic racism was a factor in the gap between Black and white students’ success.
“She expressed that she doesn’t believe racial disparities are a factor on why Black children don’t read as well as their white peers. … She blames Black families,” Speights said.
In another recording, Bailey can be heard saying, “There is racism in all cultures. … Black people are behind white children because Black children’s families, most of them, have a different concept of the value of education.
“The value on education is different across different cultures. … Parents need to do what they need to do to help their children at home. The majority of our Black children need help. They can’t go home and learn how to read if you aren’t reading to them.”
In a different recording, Speights asked her how she felt about Gay Pride month. She said, “You’re going to do reading, writing, language arts, history and science, what does any of that have to do with your sexual preference? … There’s no such thing as gay children. Those children are confused about who they are and what they are.”
Speights later asked her what she would say to the gay children of CCSD, and she said, “I would say to the gay children of CCSD that the Lord loves you, but that’s not his design for you.”
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