A college professor in New York City has been placed on leave after sparking widespread outrage over racist remarks caught on a hot mic during a virtual public meeting, prompting her university to take action just days after initially distancing itself from the incident.
Dr. Allyson Friedman, a tenured associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Hunter College, was heard making what school officials later described as “abhorrent” comments about Black students during a Feb. 10 Zoom meeting of the New York City School District 3 Community Education Council.
Friedman, who was participating in the meeting as a district parent, was unmuted while an eighth-grade Black student spoke about concerns surrounding a proposal by Mayor Zohran Mamdani to shut down several Manhattan public schools, including one on the Upper West Side.
“They’re too dumb to know they’re in a bad school,” Friedman said. “Apparently, Martin Luther King said it — if you train a Black person well enough, they’ll know to use the back, you don’t have to tell them anymore.”
The remarks immediately drew stunned reactions from others on the call. It was not until another participant interrupted her that Friedman appeared to realize she could be heard.
“Allyson Friedman, what you’re saying is absolutely hearable here,” a man said during the meeting. “You’ve got to stop.”
Friedman later claimed she was referencing a quote mentioned earlier in the meeting by the district’s interim acting superintendent, Reginald Higgins, who cited Black historian Carter G. Woodson. Woodson once 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.”
As backlash intensified online and within the campus community, Hunter College announced Wednesday that Friedman has been placed on leave.
“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,” Hunter College President Nancy Cantor said in a statement.
In an earlier response to Atlanta Black Star, a Hunter College spokesperson said Friedman made the comments as a private citizen but confirmed the university was reviewing the matter under its nondiscrimination policies.
“In service to Hunter College, we expect our community members’ actions and words to comport with our institutional identity, values, and policies,” the spokesperson said. “We stand firm in our enduring commitment to sustain an inclusive educational environment that is free of discrimination of any kind.”
Friedman, for her part, told The New York Times that she was attempting to explain systemic racism to her child, who was in the room with her during the call, and insisted the remarks did not reflect her own beliefs.
“My complete comments make clear these abhorrent views are not my own, nor were they directed at any student or group,” Friedman said. “I fully support these courageous students in their efforts to stop school closures.” She added that she recognizes her words “caused harm and pain” and apologized.
According to The Times, Mamdani’s proposal includes closing two under-enrolled schools and repurposing the building that houses P.S. 191 to accommodate a more popular middle school. Parents and community members have raised alarms about the disruption such closures would cause, particularly for Black and Latino students who disproportionately attend the affected schools.
Hunter College has not said how long Friedman will remain on leave or whether further disciplinary action is forthcoming
