The Harry Potter Alliance

By Andrew Slack

April 3, 2008

An Anniversary

One of the reasons I think that we love Harry Potter is how real everything feels. It’s not just Harry fighting Voldemort every two seconds. It’s full of laughter and relationships. It’s got the battle against Voldemort coupled with Ron being snarky, Fred and George pulling pranks in the Common Room, Hermione complaining that there’s too much noise, etc.

With that in mind, on this 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, I’d like to talk about what I know of the moments before the assassination of Dr. King – “a real world Auror” if there ever was one. Like Harry, with Dr. King there was such a great deal of going up against an oppressive system that discriminates based on race (and in King’s case, on class as well). But there was more: there was friendship, laughter, hope, feeling, and love. After going to the amazing museum/memorial that’s in Memphis at the place in which he was killed, I had learned a lot about the days leading up to this great tragedy. Here’s some of what I remember learning:

King had been in Memphis a week before and the protest that he was leading had erupted into violence. He was so hurt. It was a sign that he was losing control of the nonviolent message of the movement. People urged him to come back. After some reluctance, he agreed, though he had a cold. And he was planning on not speaking. Someone was going to substitute for him. But at the last minute he went on and gave one of history’s greatest speeches. It was a speech where he indicated that even if he doesn’t live too much longer, that. Well here’s the excerpt:

“Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

So here he is talking profoundly about the future of this movement, about doing God’s will, and even surrendering to death (of course, that last one has some similarity to a certain Boy Who Lived). Then the equivalent of a Harry, Ron, and Hermione moment: the day after the speech he’s in a motel room with his inner circle of friends and colleagues and they are enjoying each other as friends. They are, believe it or not, having a pillow fight. Here are some of the most distinguished leaders of one of the most important nonviolent movements in world history at a time when they are working day and night to keep this movement nonviolent, and they are having a pillow fight! And after the pillow fight, King begins looking for his belt as he gets dressed and realizes that one of his friends and colleagues has hidden it from him. His friends laugh, poking fun at how he no longer needs a belt because he can barely fit into his pants any more. Then a little later as they laugh, they go back outside into a world of swirling conflict. A shot rings out and King is killed.

And it’s so strange to say that he was killed. For his manner, his words, and the spirit he helped infuse into a movement have not been killed. Cannot be killed. King’s death brings tears to my eyes. Makes me tremble. Is so tragic and the reaction to it was so tragic…throughout the US and the world. In many ways, it helped represent the beginning of an end for a whole era that was riding high on the principles of Dr. King’s dream.

But the seeds of that era still lay under the ground and if we are loyal to the spirit of a movement that Dr. King lead (he only leaves the school so long as there are none that are loyal to him ) through working together as a nation and as a world, hoping, praying, and being together so that we can fulfill a dream of of this brilliant leader. We cannot forget it. It is a dream that’s reflected again and again in the eyes of our children, in the hearts of every brave soul and group of brave souls who stand up for themselves and for others in the face of unbelievable odds. It is reflected in the meaning of stories like Harry Potter which we seek out and practically devour into our core. Not just to be entertained but to be reminded that love and friendship triumph…that commitment to justice triumphs over commitment to fear. That we are one people. That we are one world. That we can love our neighbors as we love ourselves. And that love can transform the lives of our neighbors and neighborhoods all over this Earth. And that together as individuals, as communities, and as an interdependent world, we can make Martin Luther King Jr’s dream come alive! In honor of Dr. King and all of those brave leaders who have come before us in history and even as characters in the stories that speak to us, let it be so.