The list of San Francisco leaders calling on school commissioner Alison Collins to resign continues to grow.
Collins is being criticized for a series of tweets she posted in 2016 that many in the Asian American Pacific Islander community say are insensitive and inflammatory.
During a San Francisco Unified School District board meeting three and a half years ago, before Collins was a commissioner, she seemed to reference the basis for her now controversial tweets as she reads a speech to the board written by her daughter.
“Last year at my school, I heard some kids joking about the KKK and sending kids back to Mexico,” Collins said.
In the Twitter thread, she said the kids making the jokes were Asian.
Collins goes on to mention white supremacy and racism and alleges some in the AAPI community often benefit from so called "model minority" perceptions to the detriment of other groups.
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"Talk to many Lowell parents and you will hear praise of tiger moms and disparagement of black and brown 'culture'," Collins' tweet read.
Cyn Wang's daughter is a student at SFUSD. Wang is one of the first to flag the tweets by Collins.
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“I thought that message really negated the Asian American experience, especially in light of the wave of violence that we are facing,” Wang said.
Since Collins’ tweets resurfaced Friday, an array of leaders including State Assemblyman David Chiu and San Francisco Mayor London Breed are calling for Collins' resignation.
Collins posted an essay on Medium.com explaining her position, writing in part: "I acknowledge that right now, in this moment my words taken out of context can be causing more pain for those who are already suffering. For the pain my words have caused, I am sorry and I apologize unreservedly."
The response to the apology has not been good. “Commissioner Collins' apology doesn't go far enough, frankly. It seeks to divide us further,” said Selina Sun, President of the Mayor Edwin Lee Democratic Club.
Wang told NBC Bay Area Saturday that Collins should still resign. "I don't trust her to lead our school system and I believe she is making policy with an Anti Asian lens. Her statement is not sufficient,” she said.
During Tuesday's board meeting, Collins said she appreciated the opportunity to be part of “a restorative and transformative dialogue going forward. She again expressed her “sincere and heartfelt apologies.”
In an open letter sent to staff on Monday, the district's Superintendent Leadership Team condemned Collins' "racist and hurtful language" but said it wouldn't be supporting calls for her resignation.
Bay City News contributed to this report.
