In J.K. Rowling's wonderful Harry Potter series, the issue of discrimination parallels a lot of what we see in our culture today. Many of the characters face hateful or racist remarks based upon where they come from or what they are; especially the Golden Trio. Harry faces the loathing of the Dursley's because of his wizard parents (and, ultimately, his wizard-ness), Ron faces the rude remarks about his family's financial situation, and Hermoine faces bullies such as Draco Malfoy who call her a "filthy little mudblood."
Hermione, however, may be the best example for discrimination because, not only does she deal with the racist comments about her muggle background, she acknowledges and fights for those who are discriminated against in the wizard world such as giants and house-elves. Despite most of the house-elves wanting absolutely nothing to do with SPEW (Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare), Hermione campaigns for better treatment, payment, and freedom for the hardworking creatures.
There is also the issue of blood in Harry Potter that parallels a lot of our world's issues with race. Wizards tend to identify themselves by their 'blood' or by which world their parents grew up in (i.e. Purebloods, Half-Bloods. Mudbloods). Some purebloods or pureblood families want to wipe out anyone who isn't from the wizarding world. such as Salazar Slytherin. The Malfoy Family, the Black Family, the Lestrange Family, and many more believed so strongly in their pureblood title that not following those rules would result in being literally wiped from the family tree, as seen in Sirius Black.
Studies have been done on people of all ages to see if reading excerpts of Harry Potter influences their opinions towards immigrants, refugees, and homosexuals and every single study has shown that people are more accepting and positive towards minority groups. Reading the books to young children makes them less prejudiced and more welcoming to people of different backgrounds and it has influenced an entire generation to stand up for social injustice just like the Golden Trio did throughout their years at Hogwarts and beyond. The world has become a better place due to J.K. Rowling's story and continues to influence social change in the ongoing fight to end discrimination with every new reader.
That's a great point about Hermione. She definitely faces discrimination - from Draco and other purebloods insulting her, the hate mail she receives in the Goblet of Fire, and being in danger of being killed simply for being muggle-born when the chamber of secrets is re-opened and Voldemort is gaining power. I think it’s sometimes true that people who face discrimination will unfortunately turn around and discriminate against others, but this isn’t the case with Hermione at all. She stands up for herself and others like her. One particularly great moment is when Lucius Malfoy sneers at her in Chamber of Secrets when they are all in Diagon Alley, and she stares defiantly back at him. That takes a lot of guts, particularly for a 12 year old to stand up to an adult who is in the wrong. But as you mentioned, Hermione doesn’t just stand up for muggle-borns. She can’t stand to see people being bullied or discriminated against and that’s why I think she is sympathetic to Hagrid, house-elves, etc.
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