During our 6th Annual 2017 International Pretty Brown Girl Day on February 25, 2017, we seek to encourage girls to think of their futures by seeing GIRLprenuers in their communities who look like them. This is the perfect day to highlight women and girls of color who are leaving a footprint for other pretty brown girls to walk in. We would like to feature Pretty Brown GIRLpreneur, Marley Dias!
About #1000BlackGirlBooks
Frustrated with the lack of diversity in the books that she was assigned to read at school, 11-year-old Marley Dias conceptualized the project to collect 1000 books where Black girls are the main characters. “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 want to make sure other Black girls around the world can see and love themselves, too, through these books,” Marley said.
Marley’s campaign, #1000BlackGirlBooks, has not only inspired others, but has grown into a Social Movement. Marley has collected over 8,000 books and gained international media attention including The Ellen DeGeneres Show, New York Magazine, Elle, Fox29, Teen Vogue, Huffington Post, and Entertainment Weekly.
Marley recently snagged her first book deal with with global children’s publishing company, Scholastic! She will be the author and main character of her very own book. “In her forthcoming nonfiction book for ages 10 and up, Marley Dias shows kids how to make their own dreams come true. In this accessible “keep-it-real” guide, Marley tells how she’s turned her passion into a literacy crusade that has captured the attention of the media, policymakers, and young people throughout the world,” said Scholastic. The book is scheduled to release in the spring of 2018.
For more information on Marley and her story, click here!
