A Florida mother is furious after she says an elementary school teacher sent her a video of the class celebrating her son’s birthday in an “offensive way” rather than a celebratory one.
The incident happened at a Floral Avenue Elementary School in Polk County near Orlando.
The video showed the teacher singing to the 6-year-old boy, “Happy Birthday to you. You live in the zoo, you look like a monkey, and you smell like one too.”
Desarae Prather said the teacher actually sent her the video, but she didn’t find it funny.
“I don’t really like racism and to know where we came from and our ancestors and for us to be labeled like that,” she said.
She said the song hurt her son’s feelings and demanded an apology from the school, immediate disciplinary action and counseling for her child.
The Polk County Public Schools district said it’s investigating the incident.
The mother said she plans to transfer her son to another school.
