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Hunter College says it's reviewing whether an associate professor’s “abhorrent” comments during a public school meeting violated university policy after the remarks were caught on camera and widely condemned.
The incident took place on February 10 at a Community Education Council District 3 meeting, a public forum where families, students, and educators on Manhattan’s West Side were debating proposed school closures and relocations.
According to recordings and reporting, the professor — identified as Allyson Friedman, a tenured associate professor in the Biology Department at Hunter College — was logged into the meeting virtually when she appeared to believe her microphone was muted.
At one point, as a Black middle school student spoke emotionally about why she didn’t want her school to shut down, Friedman was heard interrupting. Video shows shock among attendees as Friedman said: “They’re too dumb to know they’re in a bad school.” She continued, “If you train a Black person well enough, they’ll know to use the back,” references that attendees described as racist and demeaning.
According to The New York Times, the remark appeared to reference a quote shared earlier in the meeting by interim acting superintendent Reginald Higgins, who cited historian Carter G. Woodson — widely known as the father of Black history — and his writings on internalized oppression. Woodson wrote in The Mis-Education of the Negro that when people are made to believe they are inferior, they will accept inferior treatment without being forced.
An organizer quickly intervened, telling her, “What you’re saying is absolutely hearable here. You’ve got to stop.”
Friedman later issued a statement via email, per NYT, saying she had been “trying to explain the concept of systemic racism” to her child, who was in the room with her, and that only part of her remarks were audible due to the microphone mishap. She insisted the “abhorrent views are not my own, nor were they directed at any student or group,” and added that she supports the “courageous students” working to keep their schools open. She apologized, saying she recognized her comments “caused harm and pain” even though that was not her intent.
The backlash was swift.
City officials condemned the comments as harmful and unacceptable. Councilwoman Rita Joseph, who chairs the New York City Council’s Committee on Higher Education, said, per NYT, she was “deeply disturbed by the blatantly racist and harmful remarks” made during the meeting. Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal called the comments “outrageous,” particularly because they occurred while children were speaking.
The chair of the City Council’s education committee, Eric Dinowitz, described the remarks as “horrendous” and urged the Education Department to address broader concerns about racism in school communities.
New York City Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said the city was working “to repair the deep harm that these words have caused” and stressed that students and the community deserve better.
Hunter College, part of the City University of New York system, said Friedman attended the meeting as a private citizen and parent, not as a faculty member, but that her remarks are being reviewed under conduct and nondiscrimination rules. “We expect our community members’ actions and words to comport with our institutional identity, values and policies,” the university said in a statement.
The remarks drew attention amid ongoing debate over the proposed closures and relocations of Neighborhood schools in District 3, including the Center School, Community Action School, and Manhattan School for Children — schools that serve significant numbers of Black and Latino students. Many families argue that disruptions will harm students’ education and community cohesion.
As of this week, Hunter College has not announced disciplinary actions against Friedman, and its review remains ongoing.
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