I want young girls to know that their passions are important and that they should pursue them, regardless of whether or not they think that they'll be successful in terms of the mainstream.
— Marley Dias
'Marley Dias Gets It Done - And So Can You' is a book about how girls who are 10 and up - and everyone who is 10 and up, basically - can use their gifts and talents to help the world in a way that's unique to them.
It's important to read books and see people who look like you. It helps you know that you are not the only one or the weird one because you're a black girl and you are not seeing anyone who looks like you in these books.
When I speak at events, I often wear my dad's ties and my mom's earrings. It's a small, almost secret way of having them with me when I'm up there onstage, talking to a roomful of strangers. It makes me feel safe.
I have role models, but I take the attributes of the people that I admire, and I use them to create my best self.
I want other kids to see the joy in reading and literacy and how, if you read about things, they become so much closer, and if you're willing to put in the effort and time and passion, you can really understand them.
Black girl stories aren't just for black girls: they're for everybody.
Reading has been a part of my life ever since I was born.
My mom was born in Jamaica and has always been around a community of black people, so she encouraged me to get out and act. My dad, on the other hand, is from suburban Massachusetts, so he had not been around a lot of black people.
I think writing gives me creative freedom.
I think it is important to speak your mind. Tolerance of the ignorance sends the wrong message to kids.
Like feminism, I want to create systems and structures for the equity for all people, especially girls and women.
When you are reading about a book, you focus on the main character, of course. When you have something in common with them and connect with them, you remember the lessons they learned, and then you can apply them to your life. So you can live the best life you can.
I love YouTube. You can find me there watching cat videos. I even like to watch other people play video games. I know it's a bit creepy, but it's my thing.
Most girls spend most of their time at school. If real change comes from hearing our voices, it has to start in school, but school is a place where black girls tend to experience microaggressions. Microaggressions are not always obvious, ugly, or terrible things, but they make you feel as though your voice does not matter.
I travel a lot, so I know that it's important to have people in your life to keep you ground.
Hillary Clinton is someone who's never waited around for someone else to do the hard work. She's been an organizer and a change-maker for her whole life, practically.
'Star Wars' is my favorite movie series ever. I like the old ones better than the new ones, but I like all of them.
You always need to make sure that you're looking at every angle and every perspective so that people, when they read the story, know what's happening. You have to write for everyone.
I think reading about black girls if you are a black girl is important. And for those who don't like to read, seeing yourself in a book can help them learn to love it.
Dressing in an androgynous way, mixing up the masculine and feminine, blurring those boundaries - I'm cool with that. No one should ever be limited by stereotypes of gender, just as no one should ever be limited by stereotypes of race.
If I meet someone who's Native American and I don't know anything about indigenous people in New Jersey - which I kind of don't, which is not really good - I can learn more and more about their lives, and that makes me a more open person and a more accepting person.
I wasn't seeing black girls in the books I was assigned to read at my school. I was tired of only reading about white boys and dogs and wanted to collect books featuring black girls.
I've learned to use big words. Because I'm an avid reader, I can prove myself as a smart and diligent person.
Fashion is very important to me. I dress androgynously - I absolutely despise dresses and skirts and tights - and I started wearing glasses in the third grade.
For kids in 2nd or 3rd grade, I would recommend the 'Dear America' series. Most of the stories in the 'Dear America' series, if they have black girls, are about them being enslaved, but they escape or do something really adventurous.
Social actions means that you find an issue in your community, and you create an initiative to solve that issue or to help people.
I am unapologetic about the need for social change, greater inclusion, and equity.
When I get lost in a book, it's just, like, magical!
I am slightly obsessed with beauty products.
I suggest school buses make stops at local libraries so that children who do not have resources like books at home can get access.
I believe activism is the true source of change in the world. Pushing to change social structures in communities that you are a part of is critical for making real lasting change.
It isn't always simple when America discovers you at 11 years old. Suddenly, it's not just homework that you're responsible for. Your name becomes a hashtag, and if you're lucky, you might even get invited on 'Ellen.'
When I was really little, I wanted to be our first woman president. I always knew I want to be the kind of grownup who makes people's lives better. And since that's pretty much the job of the President of the United States, it seemed like a good idea.
I don't want to bring negative energy to myself, and if people feel one way about me, I don't want that changing how I feel or what I believe.
My parents have taught me the value of reading and self-love through books that have characters that look like me and talk like me.
I am purposeful in how I present myself to the world. I want my ideas to be taken seriously, and so I present myself in a way that allows people to see me and listen to what I have to say.
Yes, you can be passionate about school and fashion simultaneously. The two are not mutually exclusive - one doesn't cancel out the other.
I come from a community that has a lot of white kids, and I notice how, a lot of times, they don't understand our differences and how I come from a different culture and my ancestors are different and my history is different.
Black History Month could focus less on slavery and civil rights and more on the Harlem Renaissance and everything we have achieved. I want to know about the whole black experience.
My parents taught me the importance of telling the truth no matter what.
I like NPR's podcasts because I can listen to those on the bus.
When I create a story, I can make it however funny, sad, or happy I want it to be. And when I read, I feel like I'm in the story, and I get to experience it. It feels like I'm watching someone else do something, but I'm doing the thing that the character is doing as well.
I write every day.
I believe that feminism needs to teach more girls about how to make institutional changes and how to further engage men and boys into being our allies.
Anyone can change the world however they want for the better!
I go to Amazon to browse for things I can then go find at the mall. It's like window shopping online. I want to touch the things that I buy. I am the kid who still likes actual books, bookstores, and libraries.
Girls of color and young women need to be seen, heard, and valued. Schools can help make this happen by including our stories in the curriculum.
Every time I've heard Ava DuVernay speak, I have learned so much.
I have had the same friends for a really long time, and I like them because they like some of the stuff I like, but they are also really different from me.
