San Francisco bookstores drop J.K. Rowling titles in stand for trans rights
One bookstore in San Francisco is taking a stand against a worldwide-renowned author.
Books by J.K. Rowling, who penned the "Harry Potter" series, have come off the shelves at BookSmith on Haight. Now, another bookstore is following its lead.
Marcus Ewert with Fabulosa Books on Castro Street is also an accomplished author.
"This was my very first one in 2008," Ewert said. "It was the first kids' book to have any transgender content, let alone a transgender kid main character."
Ewert says while the book, 10,000 Dresses, has been embraced by the queer community, it has been banned and challenged by others. So the decision to take J.K. Rowling's series of Harry Potter books off the shelf wasn't taken lightly. Ewert says he did what felt right to him.
"Just setting an example of there are things to resist," he said. "Choices to make and actions to take. We all need more courage right now."
The idea originally came from Booksmith on Haight Street. The owners of Booksmith would not talk on camera but sent over a statement saying they sell a number of titles by authors they don't agree with, but this case was different because Rowling has pledged to fund legislation and campaigns that would harm the trans community.
Camden Avery, the co-owner of Booksmith wrote, "We're one private business making a decision to align our business practice with our own values and our customers' values, the freedom to do which, if I'm honest, is the one of the most rewarding parts of operating as a truly independent bookstore."
Fabulosa Books says it couldn't agree more.
"Seeing that people were like this is important," Ewert said. "Somebody took a stand. Actually, we wanted to be counted too, so it's not just one lone bookstore."
Some on social media have criticized the bookstore's actions, saying that it's equivalent to banning books. Ewert says this is just a show of solidarity to stand for the community he serves.
"It's so much better to use language to broaden people's hearts. Broaden the world and not to condemn and vilify."
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