A free speech group has demanded the City of University of New York drop its probe into a professor caught up in a “blatantly racist” hot-mic ordeal — as furious parents insist she should be fired.

Allyson Friedman, an associate biology professor at Hunter College, has faced intense backlash after she was busted uttering the controversial comments as a black student was voicing concern about the potential shutdown of her school during a Feb. 10 Community Education Council meeting.

“They’re too dumb to know they’re in a bad school,” Friedman said while her mic was live, leading to shocked reactions from those on the call.

“If you train a black person well enough, they’ll know to use the back. You don’t have to tell them anymore,” she continued before someone else on the call told her everyone could hear her and urged her to stop speaking.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression publicly defended Friedman on Tuesday soon after CUNY revealed it was reviewing the professor’s remarks.

“FIRE is alarmed at Hunter College’s investigation of Professor Allyson Friedman for her comments at a NYC school district meeting,” the free speech group’s lawyer, Zach Greenberg, said.

“Discussions of systemic racism fall squarely within the First Amendment rights this public college is legally required to uphold. Faculty have the right to discuss political issues off-hours, especially those related to their children’s schooling and local communities.”

Friedman, who has a PhD from NYU, researches and teaches cellular neurophysiology, which explores “the neural adaptations that are responsible for aberrant social behaviors,” according to her bio.

Enraged parents, activists and officials called during a Tuesday meeting for Friedman to be ousted from her gig — arguing the controversial comments proved she had no business teaching anyone.

“It’s unacceptable,” Wendy Liz Martinez, a member of Community Education Council 3, raged.
“She has no business being an educator and shaping the minds of people in any setting.”

“If it was one of us, we would have been gone,” City Council education chair, Rita Joseph, argued. “She needs to be terminated, period. We want action. I want to make sure CUNY does right by us.”

Assemblyman Chantel Jackson (D-Bronx) also weighed in, ripping Friedman’s remarks as “racist.”

“I am so charged by this situation … It’s Black History Month,” Jackson said.

“It’s anti-blackness … She should be let go at CUNY. She has to go.”

And former Brooklyn Councilman Charles Barron claimed the professor’s remarks would have sparked way more fury among political leaders if it was tied to antisemitism.

“You let them say something about the Jewish community … the governor would have been out there saying they should be terminated. The mayor would be out by now saying they should be terminated and antisemitism is unacceptable,” Barron said.

“There would have been no process. There would have been no delay.” 

Meanwhile, the professors’ union, PSC-CUNY, condemned Friedman’s remarks as “troubling and offensive” but stopped short of calling for her ouster.

“PSC expects that CUNY’s review will be conducted in accordance with the due process protections of the union contract,” the union said.

“Adherence to these rights and to the value that racism is unacceptable in any educational setting will ensure that the necessary process of repair moves forward.”

Friedman, for her part, has since claimed she was actually trying to explain systematic racism to her own child “by referencing an example of an obviously racist trope” — but said her full remarks weren’t completely audible in the Zoom meeting.

“My complete comments make clear these abhorrent views are not my own, nor were they directed at any student or group,” Friedman told the New York Times.

“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,” she added.