An associate professor from a New York City university has issued an apology following a controversial incident where she was caught making a “blatantly racist” remark about Black students, leading to increasing demands for her dismissal.
Allyson Friedman, who teaches at Hunter College, found herself at the center of a public backlash after she accidentally interrupted a Black eighth-grader’s discussion about the potential closure of her school during a virtual Community Education Council meeting on February 10.
While her microphone was still on, Friedman reportedly commented, “They’re too dumb to know they’re in a bad school.”
She further stated, “If you train a Black person well enough, they’ll know to use the back. You don’t have to tell them anymore.”
Friedman, who was attending the meeting online as a parent, later explained that she was trying to illustrate systemic racism to her child by using an example of a clearly racist stereotype; however, the entirety of her comments was not fully audible.
“My complete comments clarify that these abhorrent views are not my beliefs, nor were they aimed at any student or group,” Friedman told the New York Times.
âI fully support these courageous students in their efforts to stop school closures.â
âHowever, I recognize these comments caused harm and pain, while that was not my intent I do truly apologize,â she added.
The backlash against her was swift and calls for her to be fired continue to mount.
“@Hunter_College must fire Allyson Friedman immediately,” City Council member Chi Osse said on X.
“@CUNY cannot apply one standard for political speech and another for explicit anti-clack racism. A university that moved swiftly to discipline pro-Palestine activism cannot turn around and excuse racist vitriol directed at black children.”
