This Week in Wizard Activism: #StoptheSnatchers and vote like the Marauders because #ResistanceisMagic!

By Jessica Rozycki

Graphic of our This Week in Wizard Activism logo! It features the words “This Week in Wizard Activism” and our logo on a blue background.

Happy November! Are you ready for This Week in Wizard Activism?

Elle Woods from Legally Blonde victoriously saying “Yes!”

We kicked things into HIGH GEAR for the last days of Resistance is Magic.

Elle smiling and saying “It’s a completely brilliant plan.”

Our fundraiser ended yesterday, on Saturday, November 3 we raised an amazing $30,889 to support wizard activism around the world! If you missed out on this very magical fundraiser, it’s not too late! We have some special perks from Hank Green, Evanna Lynch, Patrick Rothfuss, Mark Oshiro, Team Starkid, and more still available at Resistance is magic!

This week we worked to #StopTheSnatchers.

Elle saying “I’d pick the dangerous one ’cause I’m not afraid of a challenge.”

On Thursday, Dumbledore’s Army met in the Room of Requirement to protect immigrants by making calls for the #NoOn105 campaign! On Nov 6, Oregon will vote on ballot measure 105, which is asking to repeal the current law limiting the use of state and local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration laws. In other words, if it passes, 105 would open the door for local law enforcement to help ICE racially profile, capture, detain and possibly deport suspected undocumented immigrants.

Wizard activists learned how to phone bank and celebrated taking action in the face of hate with Peter Zuckerman (#NoOn105), Blanca Gamez (ACLU), undocumented activist Bambajan Bamba (Black Panther, The Good Place), documentary filmmaker and director Annalise Ophelian (Looking for Leia), comic creator Edgardo Miranda Rodriguez (La Borinqueña), Alexis Sanchez (Latinx Geeks), Robyn Jordan (Black Girls Create), and Anna Dardick (#VOTEPROCHOICE). Over the course of just 2 hours, Dumbledore’s Army made over 7,000 calls to protect immigrants!

Thanks to all the wizard activists who joined and made calls with us! If you missed the live broadcast, you can still make a difference! Visit the Room of Requirement to start making calls reminding voters in Oregon to vote #NoOn105 to help prevent ICE from tearing even more families apart! You can watch the first 20 minutes to get trained, or dive in using the instructions in the video description.

Staffer of the Week: Charli Renken

Charli making an angry face in a frame that says “Have you seen this wizard?”

Charli Renken lives in Denver, CO but is moving to Chicago, IL in December, which they are super excited about! Charli is a Resource Writer for the HPA and works on the Fandom Forward team writing sections of toolkits and Medium articles. Charli went to college in Santa Fe, NM which is a sanctuary city, so right now Charli is really passionate about the families at the US-Mexico border. While living there, they worked with the Santa Fe Dreamers Project and truly believes the city is as wonderful as it is because of the immigrants who live there. Specifically, Charli says:

“Seeking asylum is a universal human right and I want people to be able to seek refuge and be treated well during the asylum process. The separation of families is inhumane. Please call your Senator in support of the Keep Families Together Act.”

Charli has been doing amazing wizard activist work since they were 12 years old — because of the HPA! They bought the “Wrocking Out Against Voldemedia” album in 2007 and got really passionate about standing up against big media consolidation. They’ve been an activist ever since — and we couldn’t be happier to have them on our team! Thanks for being such an awesome member of the HPA fam.

Now, for the fun questions!

Fave HP book and why (or favorite book of all time)? My favorite HP book is Order of the Phoenix because I’m a sucker for rebellion groups and secret societies. My favorite non-HP book is either Frankenstein or Pride and Prejudice.

Last show you binge watched? GLOW! That show is so GOOD. Alison Brie is amazing and the whole cast is just really captivating and funny. I also love the commentary it has on stereotypes and sexual harassment in Hollywood.

Favorite class you’ve ever taken in school? In college, I wrote for my school’s online alt-weekly called The Jackalope. I loved it so much I took it every semester and now I want to go to grad school for journalism. I also got to interview Felicia Day for one of my articles! It was a life-changing class for sure.

Four days until we vote and make our voices heard.

Elle wearing glasses, saying “What, like, it’s hard?”

This is our opportunity to speak on a national level and contribute to the changes our country so desperately needs. That’s why we’ve released a tool to help you plan to make magic on Tuesday! Download our Marauder’s Map to help map out your plan to vote!

Image: a Marauder’s Map with ribbons that read “I solemnly swear I’ll vote to do good!”, “My voting location”, “I’ll get there by”, “Before it closes at” and “I’m bringing these friends”

After filling out your map, do whatever you need to do to remember: write it in your bullet journal, set an alarm on your phone, or even get an accountability partner — aka, someone who you make a plan to vote with so you can hold each other accountable for following through. Find out where to go on Nov 6th by searching your address here.

Folks outside the HPA don’t understand the particulars about turning fans into heroes.

Elle shrugging and saying “They just don’t.”

For anyone who wants to uncover the secrets of combining the magic of fandom of social justice, become a volunteer! Joining the HPA family means joining fellow nerdy heroes who are working to save the world.