Glenn Odom: Lawyer, 25-Year South Carolina School Board Member, Quits After Calling African-Americans Darkies

Glenn Odom found himself in hot water after the 25-year South Carolina school board member reportedly called African-American school board members “darkies” in an email that went viral. According to WLTX, Glenn sent an email on August 29 to another employee in the school district, asking for a ride. But Odom also included the verbiage instructing the woman not to send Odom’s email “to the darkies.” Odom quit his position on October 2, after news of the offensive email began to break, with Odom apologizing for the racial slur during a prayer gathering, as he claimed that his upbringing taught him to respect all people.

Although Glenn resigned from his position, not everyone on the board is satisfied with Odom’s resignation as his sole punishment. Alexis Pipkins Sr., a board member, said that African-American board members were left in the dark about Odom’s email for more than one month, and as a result, he’d like the emails of the district to go under review. According to the New York Times, Odom’s email asked the woman to send an email to the entire school board for a ride, but asked her to refrain from sending it to the “darkies.”

“Would you be so kind as to send an email out to the Board asking if I could get a ride? Just don’t send it to the darkies.”

Odom was on the board at Florence School District One in South Carolina, but two of his emails that referred to African Americans as “darkies” caused him to lose his long-term position, even as Glenn claimed in a follow-up email that he was joking.

“That was in jest about the darkies.”

Odom said that the emails were mistakes that he should not have made. Glenn was asked to resign twice by the board, after being brought into a powwow with chairman Barry Townsend and vice chairman Trisha Caulder.

Tonight the FSD1 board will discuss longtime board member Glenn Odom's resignation @WBTWNews13 pic.twitter.com/OCW4Tmx2xx

— Teresa (@TeresaReports) October 12, 2017

The school district is comprised of students where the racial makeup is more than 50 percent African American or Hispanic. More racially sensitive leadership is the goal in the wake of Odom quitting. On social media, Glenn is being compared to TV characters like Archie Bunker, with people wondering who would still use an archaic and insensitive term like “darkies.”

According to SCNow.com, M. Glenn Odom was recognized “by the South Carolina School Boards Association (SCSBA) for 25 years of school board service.” Indeed, the Facebook page of the school district recognized Glenn for 25 years of service on January 4.

“The Florence native is a graduate of McClenaghan High School and is a 1977 graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law. He has been practicing law in Florence since 1978 and became an associate at the McGowan Rogers Law Firm in 2014. As a school board member, Odom serves as a champion of early childhood education. Also, as a member of the South Carolina School Boards Association, Odom was nominated to serve as the representative for Region Five of the SCSBA.”

[Featured Image by Florence Public School District One Facebook]