US EditionAfter Polk Teacher Sings 'Monkey' Version of 'Happy Birthday' to Child, Mother Charges Racism
The Bartow school district is investigating after a teacher sang offensive lyrics to a Black student during a birthday celebration that sparked viral outrage.
- On September 29, 2025, at Floral Avenue Elementary in Bartow, Florida, a white teacher sang a racially offensive adaptation of the birthday song to a Black kindergartner named Legend.
- The boy's mother posted a video to highlight her son's classroom experience, showing the teacher singing a song with offensive lyrics comparing her son to a monkey, which she described as an example of racism.
- The video quickly went viral, gathering millions of views and mixed reactions, while Polk County Public Schools publicly acknowledged and began investigating the incident.
- Prather, the boy’s mother, explained that her son stayed home from school because he felt hurt and feared being called a monkey, while union president Stephanie Yocum highlighted that the teacher remained actively employed at that time and stressed the importance of a fair investigation and due process.
- The event prompted widespread concern about cultural sensitivity in schools and highlighted the need for educators to exercise better judgment around race to prevent harm to students.
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Black America Web
Florida Elementary School Teacher Sings ‘Monkey’ Birthday Song To Black Student In Viral TikTok Video
Source: BugTiger / Getty Look, there are white people across the nation who work in professional environments who get downright insulted at the mere suggestion that they might benefit from some diversity training. And yet, they keep proving, time and time again, that they are, at worst, racist, and, at best, desperately in need of an education on what is and isn’t appropriate to say and do in the company of Black people. For example, there is ab…
Florida Teacher Sings 'Monkey' Birthday Song To Black Child
Source: BugTiger / Getty Look, there are white people across the nation who work in professional environments who get downright insulted at the mere suggestion that they might benefit from some diversity training. And yet, they keep proving, time and time again, that they are, at worst, racist, and, at best, desperately in need of an education on what is and isn’t appropriate to say and do in the company of Black people. For example, there is ab…
'She Sang That on Purpose': White Teacher Sings Happy Birthday to Black Boy But the Second Tribute Song Sparks Outrage and a District Investigation
A video showing a teacher singing a version of the "Happy Birthday" song to a Black child that includes the lyrics, "You look like a monkey, and you smell
The Ledger
Palm Beach PostAfter Polk teacher sings 'monkey' version of 'Happy Birthday' to child, mother charges racism
In the video, a teacher sings an old "monkey" version of "Happy Birthday to You" to a Black child. The boy's mother says he's too upset to return to school.
Mother of 6-Year-Old in Viral Racist 'You Look Like A Monkey' Birthday Song Speaks Out: ‘My Son Was Humiliated’
A Florida mother is speaking out after a video showing her 6-year-old son’s teacher singing a racist version of the “Happy Birthday” song went viral, sparking outrage online and an official investigation by Polk County Public Schools. The clip, recorded at Floral Avenue Elementary School in Bartow, shows a teacher leading kindergartners in the traditional “Happy Birthday” tune before asking the child — who had just turned six — if he wanted to h…
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