Allyson Friedman #

Introduction #

Allyson Friedman is a tenured associate biology professor at Hunter College, part of the City University of New York, who was placed on leave in February 2026 after being caught on a hot mic making racist comments about Black students during a public meeting of a Manhattan school board. Friedman, who attended the meeting as a parent of a public school student rather than in any university role, blurted out the remarks while a Black eighth-grader was testifying about the possible shutdown of her Upper West Side school.

After a recording circulated online and sparked widespread fury, Hunter President Nancy Cantor announced that Friedman had been placed on leave pending an investigation under the university’s conduct and nondiscrimination policies — she has not been fired.

Background Information #

Friedman taught in Hunter College’s biology department, where she held a tenured associate professorship, and was a parent at a local public school. On February 10, 2026, she joined a virtual meeting of Community Education Council 3, which covers Manhattan’s Upper West Side, as a district parent.

The meeting coincided with Black History Month celebrations and included discussion of anti-Black systemic racism, with interim acting schools superintendent Reginald Higgins speaking about Carter G. Woodson, the historian known as the father of Black history. Woodson’s words from his 1933 book “The Mis-Education of the Negro” — “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” — were shared in that educational context earlier in the meeting.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #

On leave, not fired. Friedman has been placed on leave pending an investigation under Hunter’s applicable conduct and nondiscrimination policies. She has not been fired, no investigation findings have been announced, and Hunter did not say whether she is still being paid while on leave.

The incident occurred at the February 10, 2026 CEC3 meeting while a Black eighth-grade student was testifying about her fear that her public school could be shut down. Friedman’s microphone activated without her realizing it, and she was heard saying, “They’re too dumb to know they’re in a bad school.”

She continued: “If you train a black person well enough, they’ll know to use the back. You don’t have to tell them anymore” — incorrectly attributing the sentiment to Martin Luther King, with words that echoed the Carter G. Woodson quote shared earlier in the meeting.

Two other adults in the meeting quickly called out the comments while other participants sat shocked with their hands over their mouths, and the meeting went dead silent for about ten seconds before moderators apologized to the student and urged her to continue.

A recording of the meeting was later posted to the school board’s website, and Friedman’s words began gaining traction online at the end of that week. Friedman defended herself by saying she had been explaining systemic racism to her own child “by referencing an example of an obviously racist trope,” adding that her full remarks were not completely audible because of the microphone mistake.

Public Reaction and Consequences #

The comments drew immediate condemnation from public officials who urged Hunter College to act. Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal called the remarks “outrageous,” saying, “It is particularly despicable that these vile words were uttered while children were giving testimony at the meeting, exposing them to this hatred.” Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. wrote on X, “She still isn’t fired???” United Jewish Teachers president Moshe Spern wrote that Friedman “shouldn’t be near any child at all,” her words were “abhorrent and racist,” and “Hunter shouldn’t allow her to continue in her role until a full investigation is complete.”

By Tuesday morning, close to 150 Black parents, education advocates, and elected officials convened a virtual press conference calling for accountability, with some speakers demanding her firing and framing her comments as evidence of broader systemic racism in the city’s public schools. Mayor Mamdani and his schools chancellor, Kamar Samuels, condemned the incident, and CUNY Chancellor Felix Matos Rodríguez, pressed in Albany about whether it was appropriate for Friedman to keep teaching, cited the need for “due process” while revealing she remained in the classroom.

The next day, Cantor announced that “pending the outcome of our investigation, the employee has been placed on leave,” under the university’s applicable conduct and nondiscrimination policies; the college did not say whether she was still being paid. Mayoral spokeswoman Jenna Lyle said, “The Mayor has been clear: the anti-Black racist comments made by this individual were abhorrent. We support CUNY’s decision.”

Current Status #

Friedman remains on leave from Hunter College pending the outcome of the investigation being conducted under the university’s conduct and nondiscrimination policies; she has not been fired, and no disciplinary findings had been announced as of the latest coverage. Cantor said college officials had begun reaching out to campus groups to make Hunter a place where “all will feel welcome and can thrive,” and counseling services and an employee assistance program were made available to the school community.

Schools Chancellor Samuels said the public school system was developing a plan including parent training sessions, saying the moment had “exposed what many in the Black community believe to be ever-present and simmering anti-Blackness in our city.” Friedman did not immediately return a request for comment on being placed on leave.

Impact on Their Career/Life #

Friedman’s standing as a tenured CUNY professor is in limbo: she went from teaching biology at Hunter to being publicly placed on leave, with her employment subject to a pending investigation whose outcome remains unknown. In her statement, she apologized: “My complete comments make clear these abhorrent views are not my own, nor were they directed at any student or group. I fully support these courageous students in their efforts to stop school closures. However, I recognize these comments caused harm and pain, [and] while that was not my intent I do truly apologize.” The episode has fed a wider public conversation about anti-Black racism in New York City’s public schools and the accountability of educators.