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A New York college professor has been placed on leave days after sparking widespread backlash for making “abhorrent” comments about Black students during a virtual meeting.
Allyson Friedman, an associate biology professor at Hunter College, was caught on a hot mic during a public Community Education Council meeting for New York City School District 3 on February 10. She inadvertently interrupted a Black eighth-grade student who was raising concerns about the potential closure of her Upper West Side public school.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Hunter College President Nancy Cantor said the school was investigating the incident.
“I write to share an update about actions that Hunter College is taking as a result of the incident during a recent virtual meeting of the New York City School District 3 Community Education Council in which abhorrent remarks were heard coming from a district parent who also is a Hunter employee,” Cantor said.
“As I shared earlier, we are investigating this matter under the university’s applicable conduct and nondiscrimination policies. Pending the outcome of our investigation, the employee has been placed on leave,” she added.
The City University of New York (CUNY) institution had earlier confirmed it was reviewing Friedman’s conduct after recordings of her remarks circulated online and triggered public outrage.
“They’re too dumb to know they’re in a bad school,” Friedman was heard saying while her microphone was unknowingly unmuted, according to footage posted online. She had attended the meeting as a parent of a public school student.
“If you train a Black person well enough, they’ll know to use the back,” she said. “You don’t have to tell them anymore.”
The comments appeared to reference remarks made earlier in the meeting by Reginald Higgins, the district’s interim acting superintendent, who cited scholar Carter G. Woodson, often referred to as the father of Black history.
In his 1933 book The Mis-Education of the Negro, Woodson wrote: “If you make a man think that he is justly an outcast, you do not have to order him to the back door. He will go without being told.”
Two other adults at the virtual meeting quickly condemned Friedman’s remarks, while others appeared visibly shocked. The meeting fell silent for about 10 seconds before moderators apologized to the student and encouraged her to continue speaking.
Friedman later defended herself, saying she was explaining systemic racism to her child by referencing “an obviously racist trope,” and that her full comments were not entirely audible due to the microphone issue.
“My complete comments make clear these abhorrent views are not my own, nor were they directed at any student or group,” Friedman told The New York Times.
Public officials swiftly criticized her conduct and called for action from Hunter College.
Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal described the remarks as “outrageous.”
“It is particularly despicable that these vile words were uttered while children were giving testimony at the meeting, exposing them to this hatred,” he said.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. also reacted on X, writing: “She still isn’t fired??? She shouldn’t be near any child at all.”
Moshe Spern, president of United Jewish Teachers, said Friedman’s words were “abhorrent and racist” and argued she should not continue in her role pending a full investigation.
In her statement, Cantor added that counseling services and the college’s employee assistance program were available to members of the school community who may need support.
“This painful incident unfolded at a meeting where Black History Month was being celebrated, and the pernicious and enduring effects of anti-Black systemic racism were being discussed, especially with regard to the role of educational institutions in addressing them,” Cantor said.
“Hunter has long embraced such a role, which requires constant vigilance to remain attentive and responsive to the ways in which we continually draw and redraw discriminatory social lines.”
