A father has revealed the shocking RSVP his daughter received to her birthday invite, where a young classmate explained she might not be allowed to attend her birthday party... because she is black.
"Maybe I will not be able to go to your birthday sleepover because my dad will not let me go because you are black," the letter reads.
"Not trying to be races [sic], but my mom let me no [sic] Happy birthday!"
The letter was given to Harmony Jones by an unidentified classmate at Highland Oaks Elementary School in Tennessee, as she was preparing to celebrate her 10th birthday, WREG reports.
Harmony’s father Christopher Jones said he was angry and hurt that his daughter had experienced racism, especially at such a young age.
"It angered me a little bit," he told the network. "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.
“I guess as parents we have to be more aware and more conscious of what we teach our children.
"You would think in the 21st century people would be judged strictly on their character or their personality, not on the colour of their skin.”
Mr Jones added that he did not hold the girl who wrote the note responsible for her actions and that his family had not let the letter ruin Harmony's party.
The school has not commented on the letter, but the PTA president Barbara Davis told the Daily News that although this was ' a shocking illustration of one parent’s prejudice', it should not be viewed as a reflection on the children’s school.
Local civil right's activist Lasimba Gray hopes that parents will take a valuable lesson from the incident:
"When parents run across racism that’s a good moment to teach tolerance but more than that to teach understanding to appreciate each other and celebrate our diversity," Gray said.
People on Twitter have expressed their support for Harmony and other children who experience racism: