A New York college professor has been slammed for making an “abhorrent,” racist comment during a public meeting.
Allyson Friedman, an associate professor at Hunter College, allegedly made the widely condemned remarks on February 10 during a debate centered around New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to close several schools on Manhattan’s West Side.
Friedman allegedly made the comments moments after a Black student expressed their sadness over the possible closure of the school.
“They’re too dumb to know they’re in a bad school,” Friedman said. “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 virtually, added.
According to The New York Times, Friedman was referencing a comment made earlier in the meeting by Reginald Higgins, the school district’s acting superintendent.
Higgins had, at one point, referred to Carter G. Woodson, one of the first scholars to study the history of the Black diaspora in the United States.
“If you make a man think that he is justly an outcast, you do not have to order him to the back door,” Woodson had once famously said. “He will go without being told.”
Friedman’s comments, though, were audible for everyone at the meeting.
“Allyson Friedman, what you’re saying is absolutely hearable here,” one person said. “You’ve got to stop.”
Meanwhile, frowns and gasps can be seen on the students’ faces attending the Zoom meeting. Some were left with their mouths agape, while several others covered their faces.
In a statement provided to The NYT, Friedman said that she was trying to “explain the concept of systemic racism” to her child, who was in the room with her.
In order to do that, she wrote that she referenced “an example of an obviously racist trope.”
“My complete comments make clear these abhorrent views are not my own, nor were they directed at any student or group,” she continued. “I fully support these courageous students in their efforts to stop school closures.
“However, I recognize these comments caused harm and pain, while that was not my intent I do truly apologize.”
Friedman is an associate professor in cellular neurobiology. According to the university’s website, she specializes in exploring how neural circuits and neuroadaptations influence human behavior.
“The goal of this research is to expand our neurophysiological understanding of mood and anxiety disorders in order to find targets for mechanistically driven therapeutics,” her webpage continues.
Friedman’s comments were made during a meeting about a possible plan to close Hunter College, which is just one of several schools included in a proposed wave of changes.
Plans seen by The NYT propose closing middle school programs at the Community Action School and the Manhattan School for Children, due to low enrollment. Meanwhile, the Center School, which educates fifth to eighth graders, could be moved to a new campus.
The educational institution could be moved to P.S./I.S. 191, another school that would lose its middle school grades.
Hunter College told The Independent that the university is reviewing Friedman’s comments.
“Hunter College is aware of an 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,” a school spokesperson wrote in a statement. “Even as these remarks were made in the individual’s role as a private citizen and we understand that the district is conducting an investigation into the matter, Hunter College is reviewing the situation under the university’s applicable conduct and 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 statement continued. “We stand firm in our enduring commitment to sustain an inclusive educational environment that is free of discrimination of any kind, in which people of all identities will feel welcome and can thrive.”
The Independent has contacted Friedman for comment.
