Here’s something librarians can pass on to their teachers within the community or use it within the library itself. Akitoshi Maekawa, a 46 year old teacher in Japan, is using Chopper, from Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece, to demonstrate civil rights. Chopper is a character that was isolated from any interaction from the world when Luffy and his crew first encountered him. People made fun of him, they were scarred of him, and bullied him because of this, but Luffy and the crew befriend him and he becomes part of the pirate crew.
Maekawa’s class related the Chopper character to several issues including: racial discrimination; people forced into a homeless lifestlye; handicapped people; and bullying. Follow the link below for the complete article.