Overview
- Allyson Friedman, a tenured Hunter College associate professor, was recorded during a Feb. 10 District 3 school council meeting saying, “They’re too dumb to know they’re in a bad school,” and invoking an offensive trope while a Black eighth-grader testified.
- Friedman apologized and said she was trying to explain systemic racism to her child when she was inadvertently unmuted, asserting that the views quoted do not reflect her beliefs.
- Hunter College said it is reviewing the incident under conduct and nondiscrimination policies, and CUNY’s chancellor called the comments “offensive and abhorrent” while confirming she is still teaching during ongoing reviews by the college, the district and the NYC Department of Education.
- Roughly 150 parents, advocates and officials condemned the remarks during a Tuesday press conference, with several elected leaders urging her termination and some calling for broader measures such as mandated Black Studies.
- The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression urged Hunter to drop its probe on free‑speech grounds, while the PSC‑CUNY faculty union labeled the comments troubling and emphasized due‑process protections.