"We have young Black kids growing up in the Bronx; they don't even know what the word computer is. They don't know. They don't know these things."
~ New York Governor Kathy Hochul
Despicable! Disgusting! Disturbing!
White liberal democrats are the enemy of Black people.… pic.twitter.com/mVjxElYjY6
— Vernon Jones (@VernonForGA) May 7, 2024
How liberals think black people interact with computers. pic.twitter.com/jH4yl31bXv
— Ian Miles Cheong (@ianmiles) May 8, 2024
New York governor regrets saying Black kids in the Bronx don’t know what a computer is
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says she regrets making an offhand remark that suggested Black children in the Bronx do not know what the word “computer” means.
Hochul, a Democrat, made the extemporaneous comment Monday while being interviewed at a large business conference in California to discuss expanding economic opportunities in artificial intelligence for low-income communities.
“Right now, we have young Black kids growing up in the Bronx who don’t even know what the word computer is. They don’t know, they don’t know these things,” Hochul said while on stage at the Milken Institute Global Conference.
The remark was not addressed during the interview and the governor went on to explain that her goal is to provide avenues for communities of color to access emerging artificial intelligence technologies as a means to address social inequality.
Still, the comment drew immediate criticism from some political leaders in New York, including state Assemblywoman Amanda Septimo, a Bronx Democrat, who said the remark was “harmful, deeply misinformed, and genuinely appalling.”
In a statement later Monday, Hochul said “I misspoke and I regret it.”