A San Francisco school board member who hurled racial slurs against Asian Americans just lost her federal lawsuit against the school district. Meanwhile, an effort by voters to recall her and two other board members from office continues to pick up steam.
Alison Collins, who was previously the school board’s vice president, was removed from the vice presidency and from her committee assignments over her tweets about Asian Americans from 2016. Collins had asserted that Asian Americans use “white supremacist thinking to assimilate and ‘get ahead’” and that “being a house n***** is still being a n*****.”
Collins then sued the district and her five colleagues who voted to remove her for $87 million, claiming “irreparable injury, loss, and damage” and “damage to her reputation and standing in the community.” She also wanted an injunction to reinstate her to her position of vice president. On Monday, a federal judge threw out the suit for lack of merit — hardly a surprise for a case described by a local law professor earlier this year as “an op-ed pretending to be a lawsuit.”
Collins is still a member of the school board, as she was throughout her attempt to force the district and her colleagues to pay her $87 million. Collins is one of three members of the board facing a possible recall that originated when angry parents revolted over the board’s focus on renaming San Francisco’s schools rather than reopening them earlier this year.
The recall effort reached the 51,325 signature threshold to qualify for the ballot, but organizers are looking to reach 70,000 signatures ahead of the Sept. 7 deadline to ensure there are enough valid ones. If Collins survives the recall, her term would otherwise end in 2023.
Collins has also said that merit-based admissions in schools are racist. She is a supporter of critical race theory.
There’s no question that she should not be in charge of policy for K-12 schools that serve over 57,000 students, especially given that her lawsuit would only have further damaged the district for her own personal benefit.
Collins should be recalled. Her ugly attitude toward Asian Americans is likely reflective of precisely the resentments that have caused the recent uptick in violence against them.
It is highly encouraging that the recall effort has already won the signatures of 10% of San Francisco’s registered voters. The newfound focus on opposing racial essentialism in schools and on holding officials accountable for inexcusable school shutdowns during the pandemic is not going away any time soon, nor should it.
