There is a huge shift in the way African-Americans are being represented in the media today thanks to 11-year-old Marley Dias.
In November 2015, the young West Orange, New Jersey native started a campaign called #1000BlackGirlBooks, in which she collects and donates books featuring African-American girls as main characters.
“I was sick of reading about white boys and dogs,” Marley stated in an interview with the Philly Voice, “and I told [my mom] I was going to start a book drive, and a specific book drive where black girls are the main characters in the book and not background characters or minor characters.”
Marley is taking on a huge project. Her goal is to collect 1,000 books by February 11, when she and two other children will travel to Retreat Primary and Junior School and library in St. Mary, Jamaica. There, they will distribute the books to children and host a book fair.
“When you see a character you can connect with, if they learn a specific lesson, you’re more likely to apply that to your life,” Marley said.
Marley’s commitment to community service began long before November 2015. Prior to starting #1000BlackGirlBooks, she and two friends received a Disney Friends For Change grant, which allowed her to host a book fair at the Newark, New Jersey YMCA in April. During this event, Marley distributed books to local children in the Newark area.
A mission as important as #1000BlackGirlBooks could not happen on its own. Marley’s mother, Janice Johnson Dias, is the president of the GrassROOTS Community Foundation: a social action organization dedicated to improving the health and wellness of women and girls in poverty. This organization also hosts a leadership camp for Essex County girls of African ancestry, entitled Super Camp.
According to Dias, a huge part of Super Camp includes pushing the girls using their talents to come up with ideas that will initiate social change. This led Marley to develop the idea for her book drive.
“I think Marley is a catalyst for articulating something that many people did not have the words for,” Dias said. “She’s certainly been an inspiration for me.”
Dias grew up in St. Mary Jamaica, where she did not experience childhood as a minority.
“All the questions that Marley has, I never thought about,” Dias said. “[Being a minority] was not so much an issue for me. I didn’t know her experience of sitting in a classroom, and she doesn’t see herself reflected.”
To date, Marley has received donations from Scholastic, authors of young adult novels, and even monetary submissions. So far, over 700 books have been collected.
Most recently, Marley appeared on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” where DeGeneres awarded her a $10,000 check from Shutterfly in support of #1000BlackGirlBooks.
“I have a feeling you’re going to accomplish whatever you want to do,” Ellen told Marley.
Marley is headed towards a bright career. The future mogul plans to turn #1000BlackGirlBooks into an annual book drive, and in the future, edit her own pop culture and lifestyle magazine.
“I love being the boss, and I love reading and writing, so combining them all will make the perfect job,” Marley said.