Friday Feature: Harry Potter and Darfur

Friday Feature: Harry Potter and Darfur

The most sucessful franchise of all time was based on a story of a boy wizard who, against all odds, was able to choose the morally correct choice and save his friends from a disturbingly evil threat. The insanely popular Harry Potter series makes allusions to worker's rights (Dobby the house elf), media bias (The Daily Prophet), corruption in government (The Ministry of Magic), minority treatment (Muggle-Born Registration Commission), and even more real-world equivalents.  Some Harry Potter fans are working to promote Harry's ideals of freedom and equality in the 'Muggle' (non-magical) world. 
The Harry Potter Alliance  is a group of fans who are committed to both the series and worldwide equality, and they have found a way to merge the two. The group is led by fandom leaders and well-known 'wizard rockers', and works for a variety of causes including the genocide in Darfur , restructuring of Rwanda, marriage equality, voter registration, education, media reform, and environmental causes.

Jo Rowling, the series' author, is a fan of the group. “I am honoured and humbled that Harry’s name has been given to such an extraordinary campaign, which really does exemplify the values for which Dumbledore’s Army fought in the books," she said. The HPA has released several iTunes podcasts to inform people- specifically Harry Potter fans- of why they personally need to fight. 
The group's Board of Directors includes Andrew Slack, Melissa Anelli, Matt Maggiacomo, and Seth Reibstien.