A Georgetown University Law Center professor was recently fired after disparaging comments she made about the performance of her black students were leaked online. Though absent much context, the now-viral clip shows Sandra Sellers saying, “I hate to say this — I end up having this angst every semester that a lot of my lower ones are blacks. Happens almost every semester. And it’s like, oh, come on! It’s some really good ones, but there are also usually some that are just plain at the bottom.”

The comments were jarring and arguably offensive, and the casual manner in which they were made suggests this was a topic that had been discussed before. But what also struck me is how they mirrored those I’ve had with professors and teachers about the very subject: black student performance.