A Hunter College professor has come under intense scrutiny in New York after being caught on an open microphone during a public meeting about potential school closures, making remarks about Black students that officials and elected leaders condemned as racist and harmful.
The comments were heard during a virtual meeting of the Community Education Council for Manhattan’s District 3 on 10 February, where students and families were speaking about proposed changes to local schools, including the possible closure of some middle schools. The meeting included testimony from children, including an eighth-grade student who spoke about fears surrounding the future of her school.
During the student’s remarks, an adult voice broke in while apparently unaware the microphone was live. The speaker was later identified as Allyson Friedman, an associate professor at Hunter College, part of the City University of New York system.
According to reporting by The New York Times and others, Friedman could be heard saying: “They’re too dumb to know they’re in a bad school.”
The same voice also made a second comment that drew immediate outrage. In video and transcript excerpts circulated after the meeting, the speaker said: “If you train a black person well enough, they’ll know to use the back.”
The remarks quickly spread beyond the meeting itself, with parents and community members sharing clips and describing the impact of hearing the comments while children were speaking. Education officials said students and families should be able to participate in council meetings without being subjected to discriminatory language.
New York City Public Schools issued a statement condemning what it described as “inappropriate, harmful, and racially offensive” remarks. “NYC Public Schools does not tolerate discrimination,” the department said, adding: “We take these matters very seriously.” The statement also said the district superintendent and the Office of Family and Community Empowerment were providing support in response.
In a separate public message, Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said the comments were “abhorrent and hateful” and stressed that public meetings should be respectful spaces for students and families.
The controversy has unfolded amid wider tensions in District 3 over proposals to close or reorganise schools. In recent weeks, officials have been weighing possible middle school closures and a relocation in the district, a process that has sparked backlash from families who say the timeline feels rushed and that community concerns have not been adequately addressed.
The February meeting was one of the forums where students and parents voiced opposition. The moment the hot-mic comments were heard, participants reacted with shock, and the incident became a focal point in the debate over how public engagement is being handled during a period of uncertainty for local schools.
Friedman later apologised and said her remarks did not reflect her beliefs. In a statement provided to West Side Rag, she wrote: “I am deeply sorry to the students, families, educators, and community members who were hurt by my words.” She added that she “fully support[s] these courageous students in their efforts to stop school closures.”
She also argued that she had been attempting to reference racism in the context of a discussion about historical and systemic discrimination, rather than endorsing it. In her statement, Friedman said her “complete comments make clear these abhorrent views are not my own.”
The wording of Friedman’s remarks, and her explanation after the fact, has been heavily debated in the community, particularly because the comments occurred while a child was speaking in a public forum. Some officials said the setting made the incident especially damaging.
The controversy also drew attention to a historical quotation referenced in subsequent discussion. The comments were linked by some to a well-known passage by the historian Carter G. Woodson, who wrote in 1933: “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.”
That passage, from Woodson’s book The Mis-Education of the Negro, has frequently been cited in discussions of internalised oppression and the enduring effects of segregation. In this case, officials said the language heard on the call was not an academic discussion but an incident that caused real harm in a community setting involving children.
Hunter College said it was reviewing the matter. A spokesperson described the comments as abhorrent and said the college took the incident seriously, according to reports that cited the school’s response.
Friedman is a researcher in neuroscience and is affiliated with Hunter College’s academic community. Her work has included research publications and academic collaborations, but the focus of public attention has centred on her role as a participant in the education council meeting and the impact of the recorded comments.
The District 3 Community Education Council, an elected body that advises on local education issues and provides a platform for public testimony, operates independently of the city education department, though it works closely with school district leadership.
The Department of Education, in its statement, said council meetings are intended to be respectful spaces and that it is dedicated to supporting them in maintaining that expectation.
The incident has also raised questions about safeguards in virtual meetings, where microphones can inadvertently pick up side conversations or remarks not intended for the broader group. Parents and advocates said the priority should be ensuring that student participants are protected and that public engagement is handled in a way that encourages participation rather than discouraging it.
For families facing the prospect of school closures, the meeting was already emotionally charged. The possible changes in District 3 have become an early test of the city administration’s approach to parent engagement and transparency, with parents calling for clearer information and more time to respond to proposals that could reshape where children attend school.
As the fallout continues, education officials have said support is being provided to the district community, while Hunter College reviews the conduct of one of its faculty members. Friedman’s apology and insistence that she was not expressing her own views have done little to stem anger from some parents and advocates, who say the remarks were deeply offensive regardless of intent and that accountability is required when racist language is heard in a public forum involving children.