13-Year-Old Marley Dias Hopes To Encourage Activism In Others With Debut Book

At the youthful age of thirteen, Marley Dias has already managed to become an author, public speaker, and activist. This year, she’s even one of Forbes’ “30 under 30” – a spot that teenagers seldom earn.

It all began when Dias started her widespread #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign back in 2016. After growing frustrated at the lack of diversity in school reading books, Dias set out to collect books with characters that represented her and other black girls. Although her initial quest was to gather 1000 books, Marley’s impactful message resonated deeply across the country, which resulted in her exceeding the goal by over 10 times the original amount!

Now, two years later, she’s released her debut guidebook, “Marley Dias Gets It Done: And So Can You!” which ultimately serves as letting other children know that they, too, can make a difference. The book also includes an introduction from Award-winning director Ava DuVernay. “Ava DuVernay was the best person to write this introduction because she chooses to invest in black girls,” Dias explained in an interview with ELLE. “We both have similar goals for the work that we do—to promote diversity and to make sure that black girl stories are being told all across the world.”

Dias hopes that her book will remind others that using our full energy to help even just one person can be tremendously impactful. “Marley Dias Gets It Done: And So Can You!” is out now. Click here to learn more.