Dear white Harry Potter fans,
It is not your place to be discussing the “right”-ness or “wrong”-ness of a beloved character like Hermione Granger being a black woman in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
It is not your place to be critical of such huge and significant representation being given to women and girls of colour through an iconic and well-loved character just because “it wasn’t in the book”.
(Newsflash: JK Rowling herself said that Hermione’s race is never specified in any of the seven books. Are you going to suggest she, the author, doesn’t know the world she spent two decades of her life creating?)
It is not your place to be saying “Well, I can’t see her as black, so….”
You are irrelevant in this discussion.
This is for the black girls and women who will get to see themselves represented, maybe for the very first time, in a character who is intelligent, driven, brave, compassionate, loving, proud, stubborn, bossy - all of the things that they were told they couldn’t be, because black girls and women are not expected to be those things.
This is for the black girls and women who will have a character that they can relate to in one of the biggest, most iconic, and universally-loved series’ of all time.
This is for the black Potter fans everywhere who have long wished to see themselves, their culture, their heritage, and their history represented in their favourite series.
This is for the black girls and women who were ignored by their teachers because they were assumed to be of inferior intelligence because of their race.
This is for the black girls and women who were labelled as rebellious and loud-mouthed because they dared to speak their minds.
This is for the black girls and women who were called bossy or controlling when they showed themselves to be talented and accomplished leaders, mentors, guides, instructors.
This is for the black girls and women who saw themselves in Hermione Granger, who was ostracized in a society which valued blood and heritage to the point of obsession, because they too have been ostracized.
This is for the black girls and women who will find inspiration, strength, and hope in a positive portrayal of black excellence and proof that black women can be anything they want to be.
Just because PoC Hermione is not your Hermione, it doesn’t mean she’s not anybody else’s.
In fact, whether or not Hermione is black is of no relevance to you whatsoever, because this representation is not for you.
It is not for you. So don’t try to make it so.
A white Harry Potter fan, who 100% supports black Hermione Granger and always will.
