‘Get Your Hands Off Me!’: White South Carolina Teacher Pushes Black Teen Against the Wall for Refusing to Say Pledge of Allegiance, Now the School Must Pay Her Family $75,000

After two years, the family of Marissa Barnwell has reached a settlement with the school district that employed a teacher who angrily confronted the then-15-year-old honor roll student who refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Barnwell was awarded $75,000 by Lexington School District 1. Neither side has commented about the agreement, first disclosed by YouTuber Hemant Mehta, aka “The Friendly Atheist.” Teacher seen on video accosting teen in school hallway. (Credit: WLTX Video Screengrab) The altercation that triggered the lawsuit occurred in November 2022 as Barnwell was walking to class at River Bluff High School in Columbia, South Carolina. Over the loudspeaker, the Pledge of Allegiance was being recited, as was the case every school day. Barnwell kept walking. South Carolina law does not require students to say the pledge, and those who choose not to may not be penalized. The Supreme Court has also ruled compelling students to recite the pledge is forbidden. According to her complaint, Barnwell was approached by teacher Nicole Livingston, who demanded the teen stop walking and recite the pledge. Video footage confirmed the account. It also shows Livingston, who is white, pushing the Black student against a wall, repeating her demand. “I was...