A former special assistant to ex-Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dr. Marie Feagins has filed a lawsuit claiming Feagins exposed herself to her twice in 2024, then retaliated when she refused a demand to come to Feagins’ home and dress her. Camalyn Turner says she resigned from her district job 11 days after declining that demand, and she is now seeking back pay and compensatory damages.
According to the lawsuit, reported by Action News 5, the first incident happened at Feagins’ apartment in August 2024. Turner said she was called downstairs to listen to a conversation and found Feagins standing naked at the foot of the stairs. The suit claims that the day after the incident, Feagins stripped Turner of her position and told her she would be transferred and paid less.
Turner says a second incident followed in October 2024, when Feagins again exposed herself and demanded that Turner come to her home and dress her. Turner declined. The lawsuit claims Feagins then told her, “I don’t know why you are acting like you haven’t seen a naked woman before.”
A Short-Lived Role in the Superintendent’s Office
Turner had only been in the job a few months when things fell apart. Per Local Memphis, Turner started as Feagins’ special assistant in June 2024, a role meant to serve as a liaison between the superintendent’s office and district departments. Her resignation was effective October 22, 2024, the outlet reported, coming 11 days after she says she declined Feagins’ demand.
Turner’s departure wasn’t the only exit from Feagins’ inner circle that fall. As Hoodline previously reported, George Harris, the district’s executive director of safety and security, had already stepped down in August 2024, meaning Turner’s resignation marked the second cabinet-level departure in a span of months.
Lawsuit Alleges Harassment, Retaliation and Constructive Discharge
Turner’s complaint alleges sexual harassment, sex discrimination, retaliation and constructive discharge, and it seeks back pay along with compensatory damages, the station’s report notes. Feagins herself had been superintendent for only her first six months on the job at the time, according to WREG, a stretch during which she also touted more than 70 capital improvement projects underway across the district, including nearly a dozen HVAC upgrades, and said the district was addressing mold and asbestos concerns. WREG also reported that Feagins was facing an upcoming performance evaluation around that same period.
Feagins’ Own Legal Battles With the District
Turner’s lawsuit arrives amid a separate, ongoing legal fight between Feagins and the school district over her 2024 firing. A school-board attorney released a 200-page report detailing the MSCS Board’s reasons for firing Feagins, and her attorney, William A. Wooten, sent evidence-preservation letters to Memphis City Councilman JB Smiley Jr. and Peer Power Board Co-Chair Dow McVean, seeking to preserve text messages, phone logs, emails, correspondence, calendar logs and social-media posts tied to her ouster, according to a separate Action News 5 report.
Feagins has also filed her own gender-discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against MSCS, marking her second suit against the district, as reported by FOX13 Memphis. That complaint claims her male predecessors were treated more favorably after violating district policies, pointing to former Superintendent Joris Ray, who the suit says negotiated a buyout of nearly $500,000 after resigning amid a probe into inappropriate relationships with staffers. Feagins’ suit also names MSCS Board Member Towanna Murphy, alleging she published false statements accusing Feagins of vehicle theft, stalking, harassment and fraud.
