The black vice president of the San Francisco school board is refusing to step down amid fierce backlash against a series of racist tweets she made against Asian Americans in 2016 – including that they are using “white supremacist thinking” to “get ahead.”
The school district’s entire senior staff on Sunday denounced Vice President Alison Collins, saying she has not taken sufficient responsibility for the shocking tweets, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
In the December 4, 2016 series of tweets, Collins said that Asian American teachers, students, and parents had “used white supremacist thinking to assimilate and” get ahead. “
Collins explained that she was trying to “combat anti-black racism in the Asian community” and “in my daughters’ mostly Asian Am school.”
Her posts also featured racial swear words, including a reference comparing Asian Americans to ‘house n-s’.
In a tweet, Collins described a situation where her daughter “overheard boys teasing a Latino about ‘Trump, Mexicans and the KKK’. The boys were Asian-American, ”KGO reported.
On Saturday, Collins expressed regret for the pain her words caused, but refused to admit that her tweets were racist and insisted on being taken out of context.
“A number of tweets and social media posts that I made in 2016 have recently been featured. They have been taken out of context, both from that particular moment and from the nuance of the conversation that took place, ” she said in a tweet
“But whether my tweets are taken out of context or not, only one thing matters now. And that is the pain our Asian-American brothers and sisters experience. Words have meaning and impact, ”she said.
“… I recognize that right now, right now my words taken out of context can cause more pain to those who are already suffering. I’m sorry for the pain my words have caused, and I apologize without reservation, ”Collins said.
But on Sunday, all 19 top executives at district headquarters – including deputy superintendents and department heads – said in an open letter to district staff and school board that they are “ united ” in the responsibility to address the “ grave concerns ” of their colleagues and the community.
They said they agreed with board members Jenny Lam and Faauuga Moliga, as well as former board members and city officials, that Collins’ tweets “perpetuate crude and damaging stereotypes and leave no room for nuance or possible misunderstanding.”
On Saturday, Mayor London Breed and other top elected officials and various community groups called for Collins’s resignation, according to the Chronicle.
The Superintendent of the Schools, Vince Matthews, specifically declined to comment on Collins’ tweets on Saturday, but sent a note to district officials saying, “We must cooperate and speak up when we have racist actions or conduct against a member of see or hear our community. “
Meanwhile, board chairman Gabriela López defended Collins and said she appreciated her colleague’s apology.
A number of the tweets were published by the recently formed Recall SF School Board group, which was founded by two school district parents who, along with two other board commissioners, have launched a campaign to recall Collins, KGO reported.
“It seemed they were condemning Asian Americans for wanting to study and work hard and educate the children,” said Siva Raj, who co-founded the recall group with Autumn Looijen.
The posts were republished on their website as part of a slide show called “30 Reasons to Recall the SF School Board”.
Collins did not return requests for comment from the Chronicle on the letter on Sunday.