I Never Expected the Harry Potter Alliance to Change my Life
My journey from small town conservative to Wizard Activist
Wizard Activists, I’m writing today to ask you to support the HPA because I owe so much to this magical organization. Their resilience in the face of evil was crucial in my journey from small town conservative to the ally and advocate I am today.
I had just graduated from college and moved back home when I joined the HPA in 2012. I decided to join because I saw a volunteer position doing public relations — just like my major! I thought it would be the perfect way to get some experience and do something fun related to my favorite story. I didn’t expect that the HPA’s community of fan activists would alter my life in profound ways.
When I first joined the HPA, I didn’t really know much about activism or what it meant to want to see the world change. I was pretty sheltered in my white, suburban bubble and wasn’t accustomed to looking beyond that. The HPA was the first place where I not only learned about major social injustices, but where my opinions were challenged. The HPA was the first place that someone I knew came out as transgender. It was the first place I met someone that was a DREAMER. It was the first place someone explained to me what systemic racism is. These experiences fundamentally changed who I am and how I see the world.
Today, I look back at some of the beliefs I held and cringe — but the HPA gave me a place to learn, grow, and become a more involved person and activist. The Wizard Activists at the HPA were patient, persistent, imaginative, and taught me a skill that feels absolutely essential today: how to have the kind of conversations that help people become more open-minded, compassionate, and active.
Today, I still work in PR, but I think the biggest way the HPA influenced my life is in my desire to create change in the world in whatever ways I can. While I did make the switch from conservative to liberal, I think the bigger change is that I became involved. I sign petitions, I make donations, I share resources on social media, I attend marches, I call my representatives, I make consumer decisions based on the issues I care about. If you had told me, when I first joined the HPA, that I would care so deeply about these issues and what they mean for our country and for the world, I don’t think I would have believed you. But today?
Today, because of the HPA, I’m someone who fights for change — and there are so many people like me. In 2020, the HPA trained more than 1,100 new activists who are now part of creating a better, more loving world. This work is sorely needed, so I want to help them continue supporting young activists in 2021.
Will you join me by giving to the HPA today?
Yours in magic,
Haley Williams
In the Words of Wizard Activists is a series written by HPA members about how the HPA has impacted their lives. This edition was written by Haley Willams, form Public Relations Volunteer for the HPA.
