11-yr-old American girl starts project to encourage people to read books where black girls are leading characters

12:51 - 27 January 2016

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Meet 11-year-old Marley Dias, from New Jersey, who launched a book project to encourage more diverse books in schools.

Meet 11-year-old Marley Dias, from New Jersey, who launched a book project to encourage more diverse books in schools.

Dias started the project after she was tired of reading books with white male protagonists at school.

Dias told the Huffington Post: “I was frustrated… in fifth grade where I wasn’t reading books with a character that I could connect with,”

As a solution to the lack of diversity and representation in her books at school, the 11-year-old is organizing a book drive to collect children's books where black girls are the leading characters. Buzzfeed News reported.

Tagged #1000BlackGirlBooks, her goal is to collect at least 1,000 books with black women as protagonists by February 1.

Marley's mother, Janice Johnson Dias told the Philly Voice, “For young black girls in the U.S., context is really important for them—to see themselves and have stories that reflect experiences that are closer to what they have or their friends have."

"When you read a book and you learn something, you always want to have something you can connect with," Marley said.

"If you have something in common with the characters, you'll always remember and learn a lesson from the book."