Marley Dias
{{short description|African-American activist and feminist}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Marley Dias
| image = Marley Dias.png
| alt = Marley Dias is in front of bookshelves at a library. She is wearing a gray sweater and silver hoop earrings. She has brown skin, straight black hair, and black-framed glasses.
| caption = Dias in 2019
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| nationality =
| occupation = {{csv|Activist|writer}}
}}
Marley Dias is an American activist and writer. While Dias was in 6th grade, in November 2015, she launched a campaign called #1000BlackGirlBooks to collect 1,000 books with black female protagonists to donate for black girls at other schools in the U.S.
Life and career
Dias, named after reggae singer Bob Marley,{{Cite news|url=https://www.vibe.com/2016/01/marley-dias-1000-black-girl-books/|title=11 Year Old Marley Dias Started A Book Drive 'Where Black Girls Are The Main Characters'|date=2016-01-27|work=Vibe|access-date=2017-07-24}} is of Jamaican and Cape Verdean descent. She was born in Philadelphia and grew up in West Orange, New Jersey.{{Cite news|last=Flood|first=Alison|date=2016-02-09|title=Girl's drive to find 1,000 'black girl books' hits target with outpouring of donations|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/feb/09/marley-dias-1000-black-girl-books-hits-target-with-outpouring-of-donations|access-date=2020-08-18|issn=0261-3077}} Her mother, Janice Johnson Dias, is co-founder of the GrassROOTS Community Foundation.
She is currently attending Harvard University.{{cite news |last1=Daley |first1=Lauren |title=By age 15, she'd hosted a Netflix series and launched #1000BlackGirl Books. Now she's a Harvard freshman. |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/10/04/arts/by-age-15-shed-hosted-netflix-series-scored-book-deal-launched-1000blackgirl-books-now-17-shes-harvard-freshman/ |access-date=November 18, 2022 |work=The Boston Globe |date=October 4, 2022}}
When Dias was age 11, she complained to her mother that all of her mandatory readings were books about white boys and dogs. She said, "There wasn't really any freedom for me to read what I wanted."{{Cite news|date=2016-01-27|title=This Is Marley Dias. She's 11. And She's on a Mission to Change the Publishing Industry|language=en|work=ELLE|url=http://www.elle.com/culture/books/news/a33568/marley-dias-1000blackgirlbooks-interview/|access-date=2017-07-23}} After speaking with her mother, Dias decided to start a book drive, #1000BlackGirlBooks, to bring more attention to literature featuring black female protagonists, with the goal to collect 1,000 books to donate for black girls to other schools.Anderson, Meg, [https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/02/26/467969663/wheres-the-color-in-kids-lit-ask-the-girl-with-1-000-books-and-counting "Where's The Color In Kids' Lit? Ask The Girl With 1,000 Books (And Counting)"], NPR, February 26, 2016. The book drive focuses specifically on books in which black girls are the main characters, not minor or background characters. Within a few months, more than 9,000 books were collected. Many of these books have been sent to a children's book drive in Jamaica.{{Cite news|last=McGrath|first=Maggie|title=From Activist To Author: How 12-Year-Old Marley Dias Is Changing The Face Of Children's Literature|work=Forbes|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2017/06/13/from-activist-to-author-how-12-year-old-marley-dias-is-changing-the-face-of-childrens-literature/#10dbdad64ce0|access-date=2017-07-24}} The campaign also called public attention to the lack of diversity in children's literature. Dias attended West Orange High School in West Orange, New Jersey,{{cite news |title=Marley Dias named to Time magazine's list of '25 Most Influential Teens of 2018' |url=https://essexnewsdaily.com/headlne-news/73629 |access-date=29 September 2020 |work=Essex News Daily |date=1 January 2019}} graduating in 2022.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}
Other work
Dias released a book, Marley Dias Gets It Done: And So Can You!, under Scholastic in the spring of 2018.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/1000blackgirlbooks-founder-marley-dias-gets-book-deal-n716426|title=Marley Dias, #1000BlackGirlBooks founder, gets book deal|work=NBC News|access-date=2017-07-24|language=en}}
Dias appeared on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore and as co-host of the Girls Can Do program.{{Cite web|url=http://www.girls-can-do.org/marley-dias/|title=Girls Can Do – Marley Dias|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-03}}
She interviewed people like Misty Copeland, Ava DuVernay, and Hillary Clinton for Elle.com in her capacity as editor of the online Elle-sponsored 'zine, Marley Mag.{{Cite web|title=Q&A with 15-year-old children's book guru Marley Dias, who spoke at the Democratic convention, on her latest project coming Sept. 1 to Netflix|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/ct-life-marley-dias-bookmarks-netflix-tt-0825-20200825-nkadw6zuhvgqnhhfekvwuynyua-story.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-31|website=Chicago Tribune|date=25 August 2020 |language=en-US}}
Dias hosted her first Netflix show that was revealed in September called "Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices".{{Cite web|last=Rockett|first=Darcel|title=Q&A with 15-year-old children's book guru Marley Dias, who spoke at the Democratic convention, on her latest project coming Sept. 1 to Netflix|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/ct-life-marley-dias-bookmarks-netflix-tt-0825-20200825-nkadw6zuhvgqnhhfekvwuynyua-story.html|access-date=2021-02-01|date=August 25, 2020|website=chicagotribune.com}} "Dias serves as the host and executive producer of the series, whose books and conversations center on themes of identity, respect, justice and action. Guests include: Chicago native, rapper, actor and writer Common; actor and author Lupita Nyong'o; comedian, actor and author Tiffany Haddish; actor and ”Little” executive producer Marsai Martin; singer, actor and poet Jill Scott; actor and activist Kendrick Sampson; actor and author Grace Byers; actor Caleb McLaughlin; TV personality Karamo Brown; ballerina and author Misty Copeland and author Jacqueline Woodson" writes the Chicago Tribune.
Since 2021, Dias has been the Ambassador for the National Education Association's Read Across America program.{{Cite web |date=2021-03-10 |title=Marley Dias: America's Favorite Book Enthusiast |url=https://yr.media/arts-culture/marley-dias-black-girl-bookmarks-netflix-alva-chavez/ |access-date=2022-08-20 |website=YR Media |language=en}}
Books
- Marley Dias Gets it Done And So Can You, Marley Dias, 2019{{cite web|last1=Dias|first1=Marley|title=Marley Dias Gets it Done And So Can You|url=https://guardianbookshop.com/marley-dias-gets-it-done-and-so-can-you.html|access-date=28 August 2019|website=guardianbookshop.com|language=en}}
Awards
- 2017 - Smithsonian, American Ingenuity Award (Youth category){{cite web|title=2017 American Ingenuity Award Winners|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/ingenuity/ceremonies/2017-winners/|website=Smithsonian Magazine|publisher=Smithsonian}}
- 2018 - Forbes, 30 Under 30{{Cite web|title=Marley Dias, 12|url=https://www.forbes.com/pictures/5a05aad34bbe6f37dda22148/2018-30-under-30-youngest/|access-date=2020-08-18|website=Forbes|language=en}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{official website|https://www.marleydias.com/}}
- [http://www.northtexasteenbookfestival.com/authors18/marley-dias Marley Dias profile] on North Texas Teen Book Festival page
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dias, Marley}}
Category:American civil rights activists
Category:21st-century American women writers
Category:Date of birth missing (living people)
Category:American writers of Jamaican descent
Category:Activists from Philadelphia
Category:Writers from Philadelphia
Category:American women children's writers
Category:American children's writers
Category:American child activists