Texas teacher in hot water over racist tweet

A tweet by a Duncanville ISD teacher has landed the woman in the middle of a social media firestorm, and now the district is promising "swift action."

On Friday night, a Twitter account belonging to teacher Vinita Hegwood tweeted the following:

"Who the [expletive] made you dumb duck ass crackers think I give a squat [expletive] about your opinions about my opinions RE: Ferguson? Kill yourselves."

Hegwood is African-American and teaches English, according to the school's website.

A man who identified himself as Hegwood's husband at their home on Sunday night said she wasn't available but that there was more to the story. He wouldn't elaborate.

The school district confirmed it was aware of the Tweet, and issued this statement late Sunday:

"As an individual, Ms. Vinita Hegwood expressed an opinion on social media that is solely her own. She used her personal social media account to make remarks that are offensive. While everyone has the right to free speech, as a teacher in the district, we believe the comments that are alleged to be made by Ms. Hegwood are absolutely reprehensible and we do not condone it.

The district is taking swift action in this matter within the authority set forth by district policy. Duncanville ISD embraces diversity and is not defined by the personal opinion of one."

Hegwood's Twitter account has since been closed down, despite attempts by a growing number of folks to tag her in tweets and posts. It isn't clear if there was a tweet aimed directly at her that prompted the outburst on Friday night.