It was supposed to be just another academic day at Hunter College. Lectures, notes and coffee that tastes like regret. Now enter Allyson Friedman!
The spotlight swung hard onto Professor Allyson Friedman after she was allegedly caught on a hot mic making racist comments about Black students. Yes, a hot mic. The tiny piece of technology that has ended more careers than bad exams ever could.
Here is the golden rule of microphones. If it is clipped to you, it is on, if it is near you, it is on and if you think it is off, it is definitely on.
BREAKING: Hunter College Professor Allyson Friedman caught on HOT MIC dropping BLATANTLY RACIST comments about Black students!
While a Black eighth-grade student testified against her school’s potential closure, Friedman was overheard saying:
“They’re too dumb to know they’re… pic.twitter.com/jTOnxBFRbR
— i Expose Racists & Pedos (@SeeRacists) February 23, 2026
“They’re too dumb to know they’re in a bad school,” Friedman was heard saying while her mic was unknowingly unmuted, according to a recording of the meeting posted online.
“If you train a black person well enough, they’ll know to use the back,” she said. “You don’t have to tell them anymore.”
She seemed to be referring to a comment made by Reginald Higgins, the school district’s interim acting superintendent, who spoke about scholar Carter G. Woodson, the father of black history, earlier in the meeting.
“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,” Woodson wrote in his 1933 book “The Mis-education of the Negro.”
When would racism end in this universe? That’s a question without answers.
Two other adults in the virtual meeting quickly called out the professor, who was attending as a parent of a public school student.
“Allyson Friedman, what you’re saying is absolutely hearable here. You’ve got to stop,” one man snapped while others sat in shock, their hands clamped over their mouths.
The entire meeting went dead silent for about 10 seconds before the moderators apologized to the student and urged her to continue.
Backlash to Friedman’s remarks was swift once the video clip circulated online.
“I am deeply disturbed by the blatantly racist and harmful remarks made during the CEC3 [Community Education Council for School District 3] meeting…,” said Councilwoman Rita Joseph, who chairs the education committee.
Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman Sigal had this to say about the racist comments.
“It is particularly despicable that these vile words were uttered while children were giving testimony at the meeting, exposing them to this hatred,” he said.
Hunter College, meanwhile, confirmed that it was “aware” of the “abhorrent remarks” made by its employee during the meeting.
“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 the end, this situation is not just campus gossip, it is about accountability. Words matter, especially during virtual meetings.
