Hunter College Professor Caught Making Racist Comments About Black Students [WATCH]

Hunter College has placed associate biology professor Allyson Friedman on leave following widespread backlash over comments she made during a virtual public meeting that were captured on a hot mic, as reported by The New York Post.

The incident occurred Feb. 10 during a New York City School District 3 Community Education Council meeting. Friedman, who attended as a parent of a public school student, was inadvertently heard interrupting a Black eighth-grade student who was speaking about concerns over the potential shutdown of her Upper West Side public school.

A recording of the meeting circulated online, prompting swift criticism.

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“They’re too dumb to know they’re in a bad school,” Friedman was heard saying while her microphone was unknowingly unmuted.

“If you train a black person well enough, they’ll know to use the back,” she added. “You don’t have to tell them anymore.”

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Friedman appeared to reference remarks made earlier in the meeting by Reginald Higgins, the district’s interim acting superintendent.

Higgins had cited scholar Carter G. Woodson, often referred to as the father of Black history, who wrote in his 1933 book “The Mis-Education of the Negro”: “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.”

Following the comments, two adults participating in the virtual meeting immediately called out Friedman, while others reacted in visible shock.

The meeting reportedly fell silent for approximately 10 seconds before moderators apologized to the student and asked her to continue speaking.

Hunter College President Nancy Cantor announced Wednesday that the professor had been placed on leave pending the outcome of an investigation.

“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 wrote in a statement.

“As I shared earlier, we are investigating this matter under the university’s applicable conduct and nondiscrimination policies,” she added. “Pending the outcome of our investigation, the employee has been placed on leave.”

Cantor did not specify whether Friedman remains on paid leave.

The City University of New York institution previously said it was “reviewing” Friedman’s conduct after the comments quickly spread online.

Friedman later told The New York Times that her remarks were taken out of context.

She said she was explaining systemic racism to her own child “by referencing an example of an obviously racist trope,” and maintained that her full comments were not entirely audible because of 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 Times.

Public officials responded sharply to the incident.

Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman Sigal called the comments “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???”

United Jewish Teachers President Moshe Spern urged further action, stating, “She shouldn’t be near any child at all. Her words are abhorrent and racist. I feel awful for all those children who witnessed this. Hunter shouldn’t allow her to continue in her role until a full investigation is complete.”

In her statement, Cantor said counseling services and an employee assistance program were being made available to members of the school community.

“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 wrote.

“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.”

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