(Undated) -- Accusations of racism were made in an argument between two Rhode Island legislators on social media this weekend. State Representative and teacher Marcia Ranglin-Vassell, a Democrat, tweeted on Saturday morning on the topic of the education system in the state, and then accused Republican representative Brian Newberry of having, quote, "racist attitudes" when he responded to her assertion that people who are not education experts should stay away from expressing their opinions on the topic. House Republican leaders defended Newberry, who is white, and criticized Ranglin-Vassell, who is black. Ranglin-Vassell defended herself and said last year, Newberry accused her of politicizing a fatal shooting in Central Falls when she linked the death to poverty and joblessness, among other factors, in comments made to the website GoLocalProv.