South Carolina school board member apologizes for racial slur in email

A former school board member in South Carolina has apologized for sending an email where he called African-American board members "darkies."

But one black Florence School District One member says that is not enough and he wants a state and federal investigation into possible discrimination.

Glenn Odom sent the email to a district employee in August asking for a ride and also asking her not to "send it to the darkies."

Odom resigned Oct. 2, and the Morning News of Florence reported he apologized during a prayer gathering Friday, saying he was brought up to respect all people.

Board member Alexis Pipkins Sr. is still upset. He says African-American board members weren't told about the email for a month and that's why he wants the district's emails reviewed.

Barry Townsend, the school board chairman, said Thursday that there is no place in the district for intolerance.

“We should model the behavior that we expect from our students and staff,” Townsend told SCNow.com. “In this instance, an individual board member fell short of that goal and in doing so could give the community cause to question his ability to represent 53 percent of the students in our schools.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report