An outraged Florida mom accused her son’s white elementary school teacher of racism after the educator sang the black child an alternate version of the “Happy Birthday” song that includes the word “monkey.”
Desarae Prather flew into a fury on Monday when the unidentified female teacher at Floral Avenue Elementary School in Bartow sent her a video of the 6-year-old student’s classmates celebrating his birthday with two renditions of the celebratory jingle, The Ledger reported.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Prather told the outlet, adding that she has since shared the twisted clip on social media.
“It’s nothing funny.”
In the short video, the staffer filmed her class as she led them through the lyrics of the traditional birthday song.
After they finished singing, the teacher asked the young boy if he wanted “the funny version,” and he joyfully nodded, according to the 43-second clip.
“Ok, it goes like this,” the woman said before snapping her fingers and launching into a jazzy solo version of the bizarre tune.
“Happy Birthday to you. You live in the zoo. You look like a monkey, and you smell like one too,” the teacher sang, giggling at the end, and telling students to clap for the boy.
Prather told the outlet she had never heard of the different version of the festive ditty and immediately complained to the school district.
She said her son, Legend, is too upset to go back to school, now fearing his classmates will call him a “monkey.”
“I don’t approve of that, and that’s you humiliating him in front of his peers,” Prather said of the teacher, who she accused of “being racist.”
“No child should have to go to school and feel like they can’t confide in an authority figure without them calling them racial slurs, and that goes for any kid, not just my child. Now I have to seek counseling for him because he was crying for not to be back in her class or even go back to that school.
“I shouldn’t have to wake up every day to see that my son feels this way.”
Polk County Public School officials shared a statement on social media Tuesday after the video went viral, noting that the district and human resources are reviewing the footage and teacher’s conduct.
The enraged mom, who hasn’t received a call from the school district since her complaint, is now calling for the teacher’s firing and a written apology, the outlet reported.
“I feel like she should own up to her actions,” Prather said.
“I feel like she should write an apology to my son and my family, because it was unacceptable, and my son is going to be traumatized for life. This is going worldwide, and I feel as if she should get fired, because that’s unacceptable.”
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