READING
WHICH BOOKS ARE YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITES? This is a tough one. I have read so many great books this
year. Definitely Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
and One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia are two of my
favorites. And I just completed The Tapper Twins by
Geoff Rodkey and that one was great also. the campaign and also about other ideas in my head. I was
super proud of myself. I even got the chance to meet Serena
Williams there, who I think is the greatest. Some other really
cool experiences I’ve had from this were meeting and talking
to First Lady Michelle Obama and getting to take selfies with
Oprah and Rihanna.
AND YOU ALSO EDIT A SPECIAL MAGAZINE FOR ELLE.COM? WHO INSPIRES YOU TO WORK SO HARD?
Yes, Elle.com invited me to be editor-in-residence
of my own magazine on their website. It’s called
Marley Mag. I was able to curate, write and edit
stories about my ideas and I was also able to
travel and interview innovative and creative
women leaders and changemakers. When
I’m older I’d like to be an editor of my own
magazine that covers politics, social issues,
pop culture, fashion and beauty.
HOW DO YOU BALANCE YOUR BUSY SCHEDULE? ARE
YOU LEFT WITH ANY FREE TIME FOR HOBBIES?
School always comes first, and I try
to do anything related to #1000Black-
GirlBooks outside of school times. I
still have free time to spend with
my friends and family and
I’m really looking forward to
getting back into swimming
this year. When I have time
I also like to make slime,
read, swim and eat sushi,
and I’ve just started running.
I’m trying my best to run at
least five miles a week.
ANY OTHER PROJECTS YOU’RE
WORKING ON?
Yes. I want to expand the
library with as many unique
titles as possible and help self-
published authors get their
books into schools. I also want to
develop a program for teachers
to share diverse books in schools.
My campaign is about black girls,
but I’ve learned that there really
aren’t a lot of diverse books being
made and even assigned in schools.
We need schools to assign diverse
books and we need to make it easy
for teachers to do so.
WHAT HAVE BEEN THE MOST EXCITING
PARTS OF THIS FOR YOU?
I was invited to speak at Inbound’s
2016 convention in Boston, and that
was amazing because I got to talk about
201magazine.com
Definitely my mom. She’s a hard worker and she does
so many things so well at the same time. She founded
The GrassROOTS Community Foundation, which is
a social action and health organization that works
to improve the lives of women and girls across the
country. The foundation really helped me with the
book drive.
HOW DID IT FEEL TO SUDDENLY BE IN THE SPOTLIGHT?
At first it was very overwhelming, but I got
used to it and I like it because I’m able to spread
my message that having diverse stories will
make our lives better. I receive lots of cards
and letters from young people around
the world who felt the same way I did,
and they thank me for sharing my
story. Hearing that is really
special for me. ●
“I WANTED
TO COLLECT BOOKS
WHERE BLACK GIRLS
WERE MAIN
CHARACTERS,
NOT JUST SLAVES
OR THE SIDEKICKS
OR BEST FRIENDS.”
Marley Dias
organizer, editor and philanthropist
(201) FAMILY | APRIL/MAY 2017
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