Video of teacher singing “monkey” version of “Happy Birthday” ignites racism vs ignorance debate

A teacher’s rendition of “Happy Birthday” has one mother up in arms, and the internet torn.

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A six-year-old boy was celebrating his birthday at Floral Avenue Elementary School in Polk County, Florida, which included his teacher singing “Happy Birthday” to him in front of his class. But after she sang the original version, she asked if he would like “the funny song now.”

In a video sent to the boy’s mother, which she subsequently shared online, the child can be seen nodding. The teacher proceeds to sing a parody version of the song: “Happy birthday to you / You live in a zoo / You look like a monkey / And you smell like one, too.”

According to The Root, the video was originally shared publicly by the boy’s mother, Desarae Prather, on her TikTok account. Although it has since been made private, the incident made a big enough splash that the news got involved.

“My skin is boiling,” Prather told CBS Miami. “To know where we come from and our ancestors, and for us to be labeled like that, because when they call us monkeys, they’re basically saying that we’re ugly, that we act like a monkey, and all this and that. I don’t like that at all.”

Although the version shared by CBS Miami blurs out the faces of the other children, The Root said that “some children look confused” by the teacher’s alteration of the song, while TikToker @dagirlcaprie said that “No one was laughing but the little white kids. Neither of the two Black boys was laughing.”

There’s no question that “monkey” has long been used as a racist insult towards Black people. “Human zoos” that put Black people on display in cages for white people to come and stare at like animals were also popular throughout the western world in the late 1800s, and continued to exist well into the 1900s.

It’s also true that this particular version of “Happy Birthday” has been around for some time. Some folks discussing the incident on Reddit suggested that the teacher may not have thought through the implications, especially as she was the one to send the video to the child’s mother. But even if there wasn’t intentional racism driving the teacher’s decision, most people agreed it was still thoughtless.

According to CBS Miami, Prather requested an apology from the school, disciplinary action for the teacher, and counseling for her son. The Polk County School District said that they are investigating the incident.