Little Girl Writes Note to Black Friend About Parents' Racism
A little girl wrote this letter to say that she wasn’t allowed to attend her friend’s birthday party because she is black. Photo: Cox Media Group
There was one guest missing from a 10-year-old’s birthday party Friday after her friend said she couldn’t attend because the birthday girl was black.
Harmony Jones celebrated her tenth birthday with a slumber party last week, but one of her friends, a white classmate, sent a handwritten note declining the invitation. “Maby [sic] I will not be able to come to your birthday sleepover, because my dad will not let me go because you are black,” the note said. “Not trying to be races [sic], but my mom let me go. Happy birthday!”
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Harmony met this friend at Highland Oaks Elementary School in Memphis, Tenn., where they are classmates. “This is my daughter’s first time going to that particular school,” Harmony’s father, Christopher Jones, told WHBQ. “They strike up a friendship. So what would seem to be an innocent friendship, [I] never thought anything like this would happen.”
Harmony Jones didn’t let the letter ruin her birthday pary sleepover. Photo: WREG
Jones says he went through a range of emotions when he was first shown the letter. “I was surprised, shocked, disappointed, angry, hurt,” he tells Yahoo Parenting. “My daughter’s initial reaction was more one of confusion. Her feelings were hurt more than anything else, like any normal child’s would be. But eventually the excitement and anticipation of the party negated those hurt feelings. At least for the time being.”
Jones told WREG that he never expected his daughter to encounter such prejudice. “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.
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Because of his busy work schedule, Jones says he hasn’t had a chance speak with Harmony about the gravity of the letter. “We will sit down and talk about this situation in the way it needs to be addressed on my next off day,” says the Ashley Furniture employee. “I want to let her know that while we wish we lived in a world where we all got along, people still do judge others on the color of their skin instead of their personality. I want her to know that we still need to love those people, even if we don’t agree with their line of thinking. God loves us regardless, so we don’t have the right to judge other people.”
Jones says the letter didn’t damper the celebratory vibe of the party. “It was awesome. They danced, they sang, they ran around the house and ate candy all night long,” he says. “I hardly slept, but I had fun listening to them have fun.”
Harmony and her classmate will return from spring break on Monday, and Jones expects the girls will remain friends. “I don’t blame the child,” he says. “The letter was written in such bright colors, you could literally see the innocence on the page.”
Still, as he told WREG, there’s a lesson to be learned. “I guess [we] as parents need to be more aware and conscious about what we teach our children.”
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