Banned Books Week Organizers
Laud Harry Potter Defenders
In a September 25 ceremony at the Library of Congress marking the kickoff of Banned Books Week, four Banned Books Week Heroes were honored for their defense of Americans’ freedom to read the popular-yet-challenged Harry Potter series. Two adults—Mary Dana of Grand Haven, Michigan, and Nancy Zennie of Zeeland, Michigan, who cofounded Muggles for Harry Potter in response to the restriction of the popular series in Zeeland Public Schools—received Olympic-style gold medals. So did 13-year-old Julia Mayersohn of Union City, New Jersey, who wrote a letter to Family Friendly Libraries protesting its anti-Potter views; and 11-year-old Billy Smith of Santa Ana, California, for dedicating his summer vacation to reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone aloud to children from low-income homes.
The first such ceremony in BBW’s 19-year history, the event was attended by Patricia Schroeder, president of the Association of American Publishers, who remarked that the four honorees “have shown us what real magic is—the power of ordinary people standing up for what they believe.” Banned Books Week, whose 2000 theme is “Fish in the River of Knowledge,” is also sponsored by ALA, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, and three other organizations.
Posted October 2, 2000.
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