Who is Desarae Prather? Florida mom accuses son's teacher of racism over 'monkey' birthday song
A Florida mom says her son’s teacher humiliated him with a “monkey” birthday song. The district is reviewing the incident after the video spread online.
A Florida mother is accusing her son’s elementary school teacher of racism after the teacher sang him an alternate “Happy Birthday” song that included the word “monkey.”
The incident took place at Floral Avenue Elementary School in Bartow, where the teacher recorded a video of the class celebrating the boy’s sixth birthday. The video showed students singing the regular birthday song, followed by what the teacher described as the “funny version.”
“I couldn’t believe it,” the child’s mother, Desarae Prather, told The Ledger. She said she posted the video on social media to show others what happened. “It’s nothing funny,” she added.
In the 43-second clip, the teacher asked the boy if he wanted the alternate version, and he nodded. She then sang: “Happy birthday to you. You live in the zoo. You look like a monkey, and you smell like one too.” She laughed at the end and told the students to clap for him.
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Prather said her son, Legend, was humiliated and now refuses to return to school because he fears being called a “monkey” by classmates. “I don’t approve of that, and that’s you humiliating him in front of his peers,” Prather said. She also accused the teacher of racism.
“No child should go to school and feel like they can’t trust a teacher without being called names,” she continued. “Now I have to seek counseling for him because he was crying and saying he doesn’t want to go back to her class or that school.”
Polk County Public Schools released statement
Polk County Public Schools released a statement on social media saying the incident is under review by the district and human resources.
Prather said she has not been contacted by the district since filing her complaint. She is calling for the teacher to be fired and for her family to receive a written apology. “I feel like she should own up to her actions,” Prather said. “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.”
