Promoting black girl books – the story of Marley Emmerson Diaz

11 year old Marley Emmerson Diaz loved to read. She read so much that she felt all the stories had a very similar character- caucasian boys with dogs. She needed a new challenging book and wanted to read about black girls like her who were not so popular in the children’s literature department. She didnt get angry and abandon reading, Marley decided to do something about it.
Increadibly, Marley decided to start the #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign which sought to collect at least 1000 books about black girls and their adventures. The campaign was so successful that she has collected about 8000 books and helped promote the need for more books with diverse storylines for children.

But Marley’s story does not end there. The campaign has taken her on a black girl adventure of her own. She was given the opportunity to work for elle.com as editor in residence where she is working on a magazine for tweens. She has also published her own book for Scholastica which teaches children how they can translate an idea into a plan that gets attention and funding to create change. Basically, her idea is a step by step Activism 101 book for children.

Marley is not only promoting the black girl literature, she has also become an influencer at the tender age of 11. What is your idea? Instead of talking yourself out of it, perhaps it is better to take a page from Marley’ book and do something about it.
Great job Marley! Don’t stop shining you brilliant black star.

Tell us what you think of Marley