Hunter College Professor Allyson Friedman Sparks Fury After Hot Mic Racial Remark; College Initiates Review
In a fresh development, allyson friedman sent an emailed statement acknowledging she was the speaker captured on a hot mic at a Community Education Council meeting and apologizing for remarks that education officials have called blatantly racist. The disclosure and subsequent institutional review matter because the comment interrupted live testimony from an eighth‑grade student and has prompted formal responses from local officials and the college.
Allyson Friedman: The hot mic moment
Allyson Friedman, an associate professor at Hunter College, was overheard during a Feb. 10 hybrid Community Education Council meeting making a crass comment about Black students while an eighth‑grade student was speaking about the possible shutdown of her school. The captured remarks included: “They’re too dumb to know they’re in a bad school, ” followed by, “If you train a Black person well enough, they’ll know to use the back. You don’t have to tell them anymore. ” There were a handful of words that were not able to be made out between the first and second sentence.
What happened at the Feb. 10 CEC3 meeting
The February 10 session was a hybrid meeting of the Community Education Council for School District 3 about potential relocation or closure of three Upper West Side schools: The Center School, The Riverside School for Makers and Artists, and the Community Action School. Participants included parents, students, and teachers of all three schools; some attended in person at the Joan of Arc school building at 154 West 93rd Street while many others joined on Zoom. Neighborhood Superintendent Reginald Higgins took part in the meeting, which included discussion of historical references such as Carter G. Woodson.
An eighth‑grade student from the Community Action School was speaking about not wanting to lose her school when the adult comment was captured on the meeting audio.
Immediate reactions: officials, students and the college
Education officials described the remark as blatantly racist and were profoundly disturbed, and students on the Zoom call were left stunned. A university spokesperson characterized the comments as "abhorrent. " Rita Joseph, the city council education chair, said she was deeply disturbed by the racist and harmful remarks made during the CEC3 meeting. Manhattan borough president Brad Hoylman Sigal called the remarks outrageous and noted it was particularly despicable that the words were uttered while children were giving testimony, exposing them to this hatred.
Friedman’s apology and the emailed statement
An update on Saturday, February 21 noted that allyson friedman sent a statement by email at 6 p. m. acknowledging she was the person who made the remarks. In that message she said she was deeply sorry to the students, families, educators, and community members who were hurt. She explained that during the Feb. 10 meeting there had been discussion of systemic racism and educational equity, with references to Martin Luther King Jr. and the work of Carter G. Woodson, and that she, speaking as a parent, was trying to explain the concept of systemic racism by referencing a historical example. She said an inadvertent unmute captured part of that conversation.
Friedman added that her remarks were not directed at the student speaker, do not reflect her beliefs or values, and that regardless of context her words were wrong and caused real harm. She said she took full responsibility for the impact, immediately sent written apologies to Dr. Higgins, the Community Action School, and the Community Education Council, and expressed support for the Community Action School and its mission. The statement said she regretted adding pain or distraction at a moment when the community’s concerns about the school‑closure process deserved full attention and that she is committed to accountability and repairing harm.
Institutional review and broader context
On Sunday morning, Hunter College issued its own statement saying it was aware of the "abhorrent remarks" and was reviewing the situation under the university's applicable conduct and nondiscrimination policies. The college emphasized expectations that community members’ actions and words comport with institutional identity, values, and policies.
The meeting and its fallout come amid discussions about possible shutdowns or relocations of schools in Manhattan District 3. Black students make up around 20% of the total student population across New York City schools. Hunter College, where Friedman is an associate professor, enrolls more than 17, 000 undergraduates and 5, 500 graduate students.
Officials posted a video of the February 10 meeting this week and the comment prompted a response from the city Department of Education. The situation remains under review and details may evolve as institutional procedures proceed.
