Gaston County school board member’s anti-Islam post results in calls to resign
Gaston County School Board Member Tod Kinlaw shared an anti-Islamic post on Facebook Tuesday that has some local leaders, including the Gastonia chapter of the NAACP, calling for him to resign.
The post, which Kinlaw appears to have shared on his personal Facebook page and later deleted, contained a graphic with anti-Islamic rhetoric. Kinlaw did not respond to a request for comment from The Charlotte Observer.
Gaston County Schools board chair Josh Crisp provided a statement Friday afternoon when asked about the content of the post.
“Elected officials, such as board of education members, are held to high standards, and we understand that we represent all students, employees, parents, families and community members regardless of religions, beliefs, backgrounds and statuses,” Crisp said. “Individual board members are responsible for their individual actions, and a board member’s individual actions do not automatically represent the full board.”
Jibril Hough, a representative of the Islamic Center of Charlotte, said he worried the post from a prominent leader in the community would embolden others to mistreat Muslim families and students.
“It trickles down to teachers and students being insensitive to Muslim students, and it can contribute to harm and an atmosphere of Islamophobia,” Hough told The Charlotte Observer. “That kind of language puts our Muslim students’ safety at risk in one form or the other, and it should not be looked at lightly.”
Hough said he expects Gaston County Schools to take the situation “very seriously,” and the appropriate response would be for Kinlaw to be removed from his position. However, Hough also said a formal public apology and a commitment to take relevant sensitivity training could be an alternative.
Hough said he and others plan to speak about the issue at the board’s next meeting on April 20.
He isn’t the only one calling for Kinlaw’s resignation.
“This man helped shape the education of every child in Gaston County – Muslim children, children of Muslim parents, kids who deserve to walk into their schools knowing the people in power respect their humanity,” NAACP Gastonia Branch President Sean Bates said in a video posted to Facebook Thursday. “We are calling on Tod Kinlaw to do the right thing and step down immediately.”
Crisp said the board “does not have the authority” to remove an individual board member from elected office.
Kinlaw works in drywall sales, according to the Gaston Gazette, and was elected to the board in 2022. He represents South Point Township, which covers Belmont and areas immediately west of Charlotte. Kinlaw’s term ends this year, and he is running for reelection in November.
Another Gaston Schools social media controversy
It’s not the first time a person associated with Gaston County Schools has gotten in hot water for a social media post.
In September, Gaston County Schools told The Observer it was investigating a teacher, Holly Ackerman, for a post she made on Facebook questioning why people were mourning the death of conservative activist and media personality Charlie Kirk.
Ackerman’s post was shared by popular X account LibsofTiktok, where it got around 2.3 million views in one day.
Gaston County fired Ackerman in November. She was part of a wave of terminations across the county that occurred in connection with Kirk’s assassination.
This story was originally published March 28, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
