The Magic and Misogyny of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

  *spoiler alert* *I kept the secrets for two weeks so don’t be mad* “Just because we’re magic doesn’t mean we’re not real.” -Jesse Williams Potterheads far and wide and been craving for a new adventure by way of the Hogwarts Express. We mourned the loss of the Snape, the professor we all love to hate both in fantasy and in real life. Many of us have imagined Weasley summers minus Fred, wondered if Harry & Ginny had a double wedding with Ron & Hermione and wished upon a time-turner just to relive the days of Harry Potter fandimonium outside of our favorite book store. Then July 31, 2016 came upon us and we were able to wish a “Happee Birthdae Harry” by reppin’ our house and buying Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: The Screenplay. The rejoicing and the celebration didn’t stop when I picked up my copy from my local bookstore (nor when my pre-ordered copy of the screenplay arrived via owl aka Prime the next day), no it had only begun. Why? WHY? I’ll tell you why. This was the day before the we would lose Korryn Gaines and she would henceforward be known as the ninth Black woman in America to be killed by police in 2016. This was two weeks before women of color took over the 2016 Olympics is Rio and made the world say their names. The rejoicing had only begun because this was the thirty-first day of July, 2016 in the year of Black women dominating, in the midst of being target practice and Hermione Granger-Weasley is BLACK y’all! Let’s not forget that this isn’t just ano…