Tennessee schoolgirl Harmony Jones’ 10th birthday celebration last week was marred by a letter penned by a friend saying she could not make it to the party because Harmony is black.
The note, written in pink, blue and green markers, and sprinkled with spelling errors, read: ‘Maby I will not be able to come to your birthday sleepover, because my dad will not let me go because you are black not trying to be races [sic], but my mom let me no [sic] Happy birthday!’
Both Harmony, who is African-American, and her unnamed friend, a 10-year-old who is presumably white, attend Highland Oaks Elementary School in Memphis, Tennessee.
Harmony’s father, Christopher Jones, told the station WREG he was surprised and upset when he read the missive from his daughter’s school friend.
‘It angered me a little bit, it hurt me that my 10-year-old girl had to deal with this, and I myself never thought I would have to deal with this,’ he said.
But Jones, who also has a younger daughter, added that he doesn’t blame the other girl for her parents’ apparent bigotry.
‘I guess us as parents need to be more aware and conscious about what we teach our children,’ he said.
The Jones family said they did not let the ugly incident ruin Harmony’s sleepover. Christopher Jones said up to this point, the family has been satisfied with Highland Oaks Elementary, which he described as a multi-racial and friendly environment.
According to the dad, Harmony has made many new friendships since enrolling at the school, including with the 10-year-old girl who penned the offensive note.
