New York Governor Kathy Hochul apologized for saying at an event that there are "Black kids growing up in the Bronx who don’t even know what the word ‘computer’ is,” RadarOnline.com has learned.
Hochul spoke at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles on Monday and sounded off about her state's strides in technology, stating, "Now what we have is the money to build a phenomenal super computer that is gonna be accessible to the researchers in New York, college students, will attract more federal grants, and this is how we lay down the mark."
The governor was referring to New York's Empire AI Consortium, an initiative that she launched aimed at furthering the research and development of artificial intelligence in the state.
"This is New York," she said, "We like to be first. With all due respect to you from other states. It's sort of our attitude. We will be the best, we will be the first, and I want others to follow because right now we have, you know, 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 was swiftly condemned by a series of elected officials in the Bronx, like Assembly Member Amanda Septimo, who posted a statement to X that said the governor's "remarks regarding young black children in The Bronx were harmful, deeply misinformed, and genuinely appalling."
"The Bronx I know and love is full of children who are smart, curious, and eager for opportunities to learn and grow," Septimo continued.
"Repeating harmful stereotypes about one of our most underserved communities, while failing to acknowledge the state's consistent institutional neglect, only perpetuates systems of abuse," she added.
Assembly Member Karines Reyes echoed Septimo, saying in a post, "Deeply disturbed by @GovKathyHochul’s recent remarks and the underlying perception that she has of Black & brown children from the BX."
"Our children are bright, brilliant, extremely capable, and more than deserving of any opportunities that are extended to other kids," Reyes wrote, "Do better."
New York State Assembly Member John Zaccaro Jr. also issued a statement and shared that he was "deeply troubled" by the governor's comments.
"The underlying perception conveyed about Black and brown children from the Bronx is not only disheartening but also deeply concerning," Zaccaro wrote.
Hochul apologized Monday evening in a statement to the New York Post, saying, “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," she continued.
"That’s why I’ve been focused on increasing economic opportunity since Day One of my Administration,” Hochul concluded.
Empire AI is slated to utilize a $275 million state investment to build a "state-of-the-art artificial intelligence computing center" on University at Buffalo’s campus.