'Muggles' Honored for Fighting Book Bans

Sept. 25 -- Muggles, those ordinary people in the Harry Potter books, may not wield the magical powers of their wizard friends, but today four of them were celebrated as heroes in the nation’s capital.

Marking the national kickoff of Banned Books Week, two adults and two youngsters were lauded for their efforts to oppose book bans, especially challenges to the popular Harry Potter series.

The American Library Association recently announced J.K. Rowling’s best-selling books about a young wizard were the most challenged last year. Efforts to restrict their use or remove them entirely from classrooms and school libraries have been reported in 19 states.

Among those honored at a ceremony today at the Library of Congress were Mary Dana of Grand Haven, Mich., and Nancy Zennie of Zeeland, Mich., who spearheaded a grass-roots effort among parents, teachers and kids to oppose a ban on the Potter books in local schools.

The campaign evolved into an organization called “Muggles for Harry Potter,” which created its own Web site to help others around the country dealing with similar challenges in their communities.

Youth Cited

Two teenagers also received Heroes Awards from the organizers of Banned Books Week.

Julia Mayersohn, 13, of Union City, N.J., was cited for writing to Family Friendly Libraries voicing opposition to the group’s efforts to force the removal of Potter books from publicly funded institutions. She also rallied other Potter fans to write similar letters.Billy Smith, 11, of Santa Ana, Calif., was honored for giving up his summer vacation to read the first Potter volume aloud to kids from low-income homes, many of whom had never heard of the young wizard.

Former U.S. Rep. Pat Schroeder, president of the Association of American Publishers, presented the honorees with Olympic-style gold medals.

“I can’t think of a more appropriate place to celebrate the freedom to read than here in front of the statue of James Madison,” she said. The man who wrote our Constitution reminds us of the need to defend the Bill of Rights everyday, the lesson that our four Banned Books Week heroes have taken to heart.”