A Girl Named Rosa

A Girl Named Marley

There are a lot of young girls helping to make positive changes in our world today, just like Rosa Parks did. Marley Dias is one of those girls.

Marley noticed that something major was missing from the books she was reading in school. “I wasn’t seeing girls like me—black girls who are smart,” she says. In fact, most of the stories her class was reading in school didn’t feature any characters at all who were black. “The ones that did were very one-dimensional. Black girls are not being portrayed fully,” Marley explains.

So the New Jersey girl, then eleven years old, set out to collect one thousand amazing stories featuring black girls. “Black girls need to see stories about girls like them,” Marley says. “Our voices and stories are so important.” She created the hashtag #1000blackgirlbooks, and her book drive took off. Marley began receiving books from people all over the world. She had collected more than 9,000 books of many different genres.

Marley decided to donate the books to a school in Jamaica, where her mom is from. “We delivered the books in person,” Marley says. “I think it’s important to step out of your comfort zone.” Marley is still collecting books and speaking about the importance of black female characters. “You don’t have to be the best,” she says. “You just have to do your best and do what you love.”