San Francisco school board members move to oust vice president for past racist tweets against Asian Americans

Members of San Francisco's school board are moving to oust its vice president in a special meeting later this week over her past racist tweets, KRON-TV reported.

What's the background?

Alison Collins came under increasing fire last week after 2016 social media posts of hers containing racist comments against Asian Americans surfaced as part of a campaign to recall school board members.

She said many Asian Americans use "white supremacist thinking" to "get ahead" and called Asian Americans who did not speak out against then-President Donald Trump "house" N-words.

"I grew up in mostly Asian [American] schools and know this experience all to [sic] well. Many Asian Am. believe they benefit from the 'model minority' BS," she wrote. "In fact many Asian Americans [Teachers], [Students], and [Parents] actively promote these myths. They use white supremacist thinking to assimilate and 'get ahead.'"

Now what?

Collins offered no indication she will resign even though other board members have called on her to do so. She has, however, apologized.

"For the pain my words may have caused I am sorry, and I apologize unreservedly," she wrote on Medium a few days ago, adding that "as a Black woman, a mother, an educator and a fierce advocate of equity in our schools I utilize my social media platforms to speak out on race and racism."

Collins also apologized during the board's regular meeting Tuesday night, KRON reported.

"I'd like to reemphasize my sincere and heartfelt apologies, and I'm currently engaging with my colleagues and working with the community for the good of all children in our district," she said.

But two other school board members — Faauuga Moligaplan and Jenny Lam — plan to introduce a resolution at Thursday's special meeting calling for Collins to be stripped of her titles, the station said.

"I am not alone when I say I don't have confidence in Commissioner Collins' ability to fairly govern a school district that is almost half [Asian Pacific Islander] with no bias," Lam said. "Restorative justice begins by acknowledging the harm and making the intentional effort to connect with those in the community that has been harmed."

Lam added, "Commissioner Collins' words undermine the labor of communities and our students to dismantle it and it is especially harmful. Words matter."

KRON said 1,000 people signed up to speak about Collins' tweets at the virtual school board meeting, but not everyone was able to speak — and many parents and community members felt silenced by board President Gabriela Lopez for limited time and not splitting up the comments by who supports and doesn't support Collins.