St. Paul Public Schools Superintendent Valeria Silva has apologized for a controversial tweet she sent Monday about the Ferguson, Missouri, grand jury decision.
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After the grand jury declined to indict officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown, Silva reportedly tweeted:
"No indictment for officer Wilson! Very sad day in America. How do I explain this to my black students?"
Her tweet offended many people, including the president of the St. Paul Police Federation, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported. David Titus wrote Silva a letter criticizing her "ignorant tweet."
In a statement posted Tuesday afternoon to the St. Paul Public Schools site, Silva said:
"I apologize for the misunderstanding around my first tweet Monday night in which I reacted emotionally to the Ferguson grand jury's decision.
My purpose was not to challenge the judgment of the police or the grand jury, but to express my sadness about this tragic situation. I deleted the tweet because it was being misinterpreted and it was distracting from the larger conversation about Ferguson.
I recognize that the Ferguson decision impacts many students and community members.
But it deeply and profoundly affects the lives of many of our black students. That is why I tweeted what I did. The amount of time that people spent questioning my tweet and the time I spent responding underscores that race still matters in this country."