This article contains descriptions of racism and harassment.
Footage of two Black people allegedly getting harassed by children making monkey noises at them went viral this month on TikTok, sparking controversy.
The viral video, which has over 1.4 million views and was posted earlier in the month by an unnamed TikTok creator (@mindurbusiness9991), shows two Black people filming themselves in front of a group of children.
Screeching vocal sounds can be heard in the background of the video, and the creator of the video says the children in the background of the video were making monkey noises at herself and her friend.
“We were minding our business on a walk and this group of 7-8 year old white kids started making monkey noises bro,” the creator captioned the video. “Literally wtf.”
The viral TikTok stirred debate in its comments section about who is to blame for children’s racism, and some users questioned the legitimacy of the accusations.
Many users said they were angry and would have fought the children in the video, regardless of their age.
“I’m not above fighting children,” one user commented.
“Idc how old they are I’m getting them back,” another responded.
The creator of the video agreed in a comment, saying: “If they’re old enough to be racist they’re old enough to know wtf they’re doing.”
Other users argued that the parents of the children are at fault for the alleged racism.
“Straight from the parents,” someone commented.
“Like what are their parents teaching them?” a second replied.
In response, some users said racism often originates from social media rather than parents.
“It’s social media wtf u think ppl teach their kids this?’ one TikToker responded.
“Ngl most likely social media, black people are constantly getting racist ‘jokes’/videos made about us online,” another replied.
However, some users argued the children might not have been intended to be racist.
“How do you know what kind of noise they are attempting to imitate and for what motivation?” one user asked.
“Bro they sound like seagulls,” a second commented.
In a comment, the creator of the TikTok said she confronted the children to ask them what they were doing.
“No we even said ‘who’s making the monkey noises’ they all laughed and said ‘me’,” the creator alleged.
The creator of the TikTok has not posted any information about her identity, or where and when the alleged harassment took place. She did not respond to our request for a response via TikTok comment.