Fred and George and the Toilers of Trouble (Year 1) ✔

Author Note: Diversity (+ Pandas)

Hello, Potterheads! Thanks for staying with me thus far! The story is only just getting started!  Chapter 9: A MEETING WITH MILLICENT begins tomorrow.

I wanted to pause here between chapters to talk about two of my favorite characters and why I've chosen to highlight them in my series. No, not Fred and George. Lee Jordan and Angelina Johnson!

Last year at the Oscars, there was a demonstration outside the theater to bring attention to the lack of diversity in the nominations for the Academy Award. People rushed to Twitter to argue on both sides, and then J.K. Rowling took a big step in the right direction by approving the change in Hermione's ethnicity from white to black for the stage play of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I understand there are some controversial opinions here as well, and before you say that she was never specified as white in the books, which seems to be the go-to argument, let me clear things up:

From Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Chapter 5: Excess of Phlegm

"What's this?" Hermione asked eventually, holding up what looked like a small telescope.

"Dunno," said Ron, "but if Fred and George left it here, it's probably not ready for the joke shop yet, so be careful."

Later:

Hermione emerged, coughing, out of the smoke, clutching the telescope and sporting a brilliantly purple black eye.

When Harry arrived downstairs ten minutes later, fully dressed and carrying his empty breakfast tray, it was to find Hermione sitting at the kitchen table in great agitation, while Mrs. Weasley tried to lessen her resemblance to half a panda.

In my view, and based on the evidence from the OS-Canon (original source books), Hermione has white skin because pandas have white fur with black spots over their eyes.

But, honestly, who cares!? Do I care? Not in the slightest. My point here is that the discussion shouldn't be about whether Hermione was white or black, but if it is important for authors to cast our stories with a diverse brush of many colors. JKR made a stand to include diversity in her play by changing the race of a major character and I applaud that with a standing ovation. One would say that she almost has a responsibility to her massive audience to provide characters of every race. For my books, I thought it was equally important. Although it is established canon that Fred and George were friends with Lee Jordan, and that there was a little back and forth on who ends up with Angelina Johnson, I found it so refreshing that two, pale, red-haired boys were drawn to two of the only black students in the whole school. It was one of the reasons I was so captivated by their untold story.

It's February, which means it's Black History Month here in the U.S. This is a time for us to discuss those who deserve a moment of reflection because of their achievements and a way in which we can further establish their place in history. Unfortunately, there aren't enough black storytellers or characters in mainstream fiction. That means people of color have difficulty identifying with the stories they read and often feel left out of any given narrative, because writers tend to fail in giving them someone to aspire to or admire. My hope is that, after this series is complete, readers of African descent will find a way to connect with the wizarding world in a manner that isn't relegated to using a different colored crayon on a coloring page, but where their favorite characters always looked like them  —  characters that are diverse in every way, and heroes in their own right! I hope to give that to you in Lee and Angelina. Their place in my series, while limited at the start, is as integral to Fred and George's story as Ron and Hermione are to Harry Potter's.

If you find yourself being curious, and want a more in-depth discussion of evidence from the books and beyond without being called racist and being contradicted to all get-out by JKR's band of Mini-Death Eaters, I go way more into this topic in my book HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD (The M. Clifford MOD)

Play nice, Little Toilers. Love, not war. 

Remember... haters gonna hate, Death Eaters gonna eat.