"Allegations of racism and other discrimination against San Francisco Housing Authority Executive Director Henry Alvarez are flying in lawsuits filed by his subordinates," the San Francisco Examiner reports. It's a man-bites-dog story inasmuch as Alvarez is black and his accusers are white--the reverse of the usual race-discrimination stereotype.

In one lawsuit, Tim Larsen, a lawyer who works for the authority, alleges that Alvarez "told him to 'stop being so Anglo' and that he 'did not have enough kink in his hair,' " reports the San Francisco Chronicle. The Examiner adds that "Alvarez allegedly asked Larsen to climb a telephone pole to cut down some dangling shoes. When Larsen questioned why he was being asked to do the task when it was clearly not in his attorney job description, Alvarez allegedly replied, 'you and I are like Captain Kirk and Spock; you will never escape me.' "

Then there's this: "Larsen . . . claims Alvarez denied him a promotion based on his race, . . . admitting he would have granted the promotion 'if you had more melatonin in your skin,' according to court documents filed last month. The suit surmises that Alvarez actually was referring to 'melanin,' a hormone that determines skin pigment."

Sounds more like Archie Bunker than anyone from "Star Trek."

When we read about this case, it reminded us of another one, which we wrote about back in 2007. As the Chronicle reported then, San Francisco was defending "an affirmative action program for minority and female contractors," even though a 1996 ballot initiative banned all such racial preferences by governments in California. A state appeals court had just ruled in the city's favor, "saying a history of discrimination may justify preferential treatment despite California's Proposition 209."