The comment was made on May 6 while Hochul was being interviewed at a business conference in California while discussing the expansion of economic opportunities in AI 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.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says she “misspoke” when she said “we have young Black kids growing up in the Bronx who don’t know even know what the word ‘computer’ is” https://t.co/ZaxLtYPDh0 pic.twitter.com/ziOpeB0yfd — philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) May 7, 2024
As the comment has gone viral on social media, the governor said “I misspoke, and I regret it. Of course, Black children in the Bronx know what computers are — the problem is that they too often lack access to the technology needed to get on track to high-paying jobs in emerging industries like AI,” Hochul said.
“That’s why I’ve been focused on increasing economic opportunity since Day One of my Administration and will continue that fight to ensure every New Yorker has a shot at a good-paying job.”
Social media users jumped to defend those mentioned kids. “We have children in the Bronx that can build a computer with their eyes closed. We also don’t have STEM programs accessible for them. We have been advocating for more programs, but Miss Kathy isn’t funding them,” @urbanmodernis tweeted.
We have children in the Bronx that can build a computer with their eyes closed. We also don’t have Stem programs accessible for them. We have been advocating for more programs but Miss Kathy isn’t funding them. — Thee NYC angry black latina mom!
