The black vice president of the San Francisco school board refuses to resign amid a violent backlash against a series of racist tweets she made against Asian Americans in 2016 – including that they use “white supremacist thinking” to “to progress”.
The entire senior school district team reported Sunday to Vice President Alison Collins, saying she did not take responsibility for the shocking tweets, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.
In the December 4, 2016, tweeting topic, Collins said that Asian American teachers, students and parents used “white supremacist thinking to assimilate and ‘move on’”.
Collins explained that he was trying to “combat anti-black racism in the Asian community” and “at my daughters’ predominantly Asian school Am”.
His posts also contained racial epithets, including a reference comparing Asian Americans to “home ns”.
In a tweet, Collins described a situation in which his daughter “overheard boys pestering a Latino about ‘Trump, Mexicans and the KKK’. The boys were Asian-American, ”reported KGO.
On Saturday, Collins expressed regret at the pain his words caused – but he refused to admit that his tweets were racist and insisted that they were taken out of context.
“A series of tweets and social media posts that I made in 2016 were recently highlighted. They were taken out of context, both from that specific moment and from the nuance of the conversation that took place, ” she said in a tweet.
“But whether my tweets are being taken out of context or not, just one thing matters now. And that is the pain that our Asian American brothers and sisters are experiencing. Words have meaning and impact, ”she said.
“… I recognize that at this moment, at this moment, my words out of context may be causing more pain for those who are already suffering. For the pain my words may have caused, I’m sorry and I apologize without reservation, ”said Collins.
But on Sunday, all 19 top administrators at the district headquarters – including deputy superintendents and department heads – said in an open letter to district officials and the school council that they are “united” in the responsibility to share “serious concerns” of your 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 gross and harmful stereotypes and leave no room for potential nuances or misunderstandings” .
On Saturday, Mayor London Breed and other elected officials and several community groups called for Collins to resign, according to the Chronicle.
School Superintendent Vince Matthews declined to respond to Collins’ tweets specifically on Saturday, but sent a note to district officials saying, “We have to come together and speak when we see or hear racist actions or behavior perpetrated against any member of our community” .
Meanwhile, the chairman of the board, Gabriela López, defended Collins, saying she appreciated the colleague’s apology.
Several of the tweets were published by the newly formed Recall SF School Board, which was founded by two parents from the school district who launched a campaign to revoke Collins along with two other council commissioners, KGO reported.
“He seemed to be judging Asian Americans for wanting to study hard, work and educate children,” said Siva Raj, who co-founded the recall group with Autumn Looijen, to the newspaper.
The posts were republished on their website as part of a slide show called “30 reasons to remember SF’s school board”.
Collins did not return requests for comment from the Chronicle on Sunday about the letter.