Civil Rights in the Harry Potter World

By Benjamin Paley on February 13, 2017

The interior of the Ministry of Magic. Photo Courtesy of Flickr.

Calling all Harry Potter fans out there — even muggles.

With the recent wave of new civil rights organizations popping up, it helps to put things into perspective.

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote an article in which he argued that fantasy can be seen as an extension of our world; one that deals with similar problems, but where the reader can see these issues resolved and hopefully provide insight into how we should solve the issue in our world.

Another author, and ironically a close colleague and friend of Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, considered his magnum opus, the Chronicles of Narnia, to be an alternative history of our world — in fact, the seven books chronicle the entire history of Narnia, from creation in “The Magicians Nephew” to its ultimate destruction in “The Last Battle.”

Of course, Lewis was a very religious man, and the story of Narnia parallels the books of the Jewish and Christian Bible — the creation of Narnia parallels the creation of the world in the Book of Genesis, while the end of Narnia parallels the end of mankind in the Book of Revelations.

Tolkien and Lewis both wrote epics that helped explain what was going on in the world and manifested those problems onto the pages of a book. The reader is transported to an alternate world where they can watch its history unfold.

So it is no surprise that J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series also wrote about issues in our world today. But I would like to take it a step forward. The final book in the Harry Potter series came out in 2007 and much has happened in the world since.

Most recently, the Black Lives Matter makes a daily media appearance and is now on everyone’s mind. In addition, terror has taken on a new form: through videos and articles on the internet.

In the Harry Potter world, there are numerous comparisons that can be made to our world; to that extent, and since the Harry Potter universe has been on hold since the release of the last book — although it is making more of an appearance now — I am taking certain creative liberties in manifesting our world issues in the Harry Potter universe.

For one, Black Lives Matters, or the NAACP, can take on the form of Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw Lives Matter — these two houses are largely underrepresented in the series and are really not taken too seriously. The Harry Potter universe is dominated by the good personas of Gryffindor and the evil of Slytherin house.

Where is Ravenclaw in all of this? Surely they must feel left out of the events occurring in the Harry Potter world. In response to the lack of attention they receive as well as discrimination they receive from others in the wizarding world, both houses — Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff — have started a movement that aims to increase the presence and representation of their house members.

What about members of Slytherin house who feel discriminated against because of their placement? Should they have to face the scrutiny of the wizarding world because of the decisions of their family or what house they were put in while at school? The answer is no.; and in response to the evils of certain members of Slytherin (i.e. He Who Must Not Be Named and his death eater henchmen) a large number of current and past Slytherins have started a lobby group that goes to the Ministry of Magic to crack down on evil Slytherin members in addition to raising awareness of Slytherin culture and goodness.

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