Marley Dias's latest project is "Bookmarks:

Celebrating Black Voices" on Netflix; she’s 15

By Chicago Tribune, adapted by Newsela staff on 09.10.20
Word Count 1,191
Level 1220L

Image 1. Marley Dias speaks onstage during the 2020 Embrace Ambition Summit on March 5, 2020, in New York City. Photo: Craig
Barritt/Getty Images for Tory Burch Foundation/TNS

In two years, a lot can happen, but when you are Marley Dias — founder and author of the social
media campaign #1000BlackGirlBooks — somehow it's on a whole different scale.

Her campaign, #1000BlackGirlBooks, is to collect and donate children's books that feature Black
girls as the lead characters.

A couple of years ago, Dias, a West Orange, New Jersey, resident, was promoting her book,
"Marley Dias Gets It Done (And So Can You!)." In the book, she wrote about youth activism, social
justice and using social media to make positive changes in communities.

Netflix Series Highlights Black Experience

In August, the 15-year-old talked about her new Netflix project, "Bookmarks: Celebrating Black
Voices," a collection of 12 five-minute video episodes featuring Black celebrities reading children's
books by Black authors that highlight the Black experience.

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Dias serves as host and executive producer of the series, whose books and conversations center on
themes of identity, respect, justice and action. Among the guests are rapper, actor and writer
Common, actor and author Lupita Nyong'o, comedian, actor and author Tiffany Haddish, and
ballerina and author Misty Copeland.

Some of the books that will be read are "ABCs for Girls Like Me" by Melanie Goolsby, "Brown Boy
Joy" by Thomishia Booker, "Firebird" by Copeland, and "I Am Enough" by Grace Byers.

Dias Wants To Spark Families Learning Together

Dias said the project will provide families the tools to start conversations with kids about difficult
topics through book-based content. Dias said "Bookmarks" can help parents who have children
who don't find reading enjoyable. She hopes that kids are encouraged to care more about such
stories.

"The series came about, not as a direct comeback to

the attack on Black people, but really to spark
conversation and offer ways for kids and families to
talk about their identity," Dias said. "It's super
important for #1000BlackGirlBooks and now for
'Bookmarks' to really provide access through
children's books to encourage families to watch
together, to read together, to learn together." She
hopes to create "campaigns that can change the world
and really shift conversations about Black identities,
Black lives and Black people."

In the five years since the #1000blackgirlbooks

campaign began, Dias' work to diversify kids' reading
lists has garnered her numerous awards. Dias
answered questions after her appearance at August's
virtual Democratic National Convention (DNC) to talk about "Bookmarks," hope and more. The
DNC is held every four years to officially name a candidate for the U.S. presidential race. The
Republican political party also holds a convention every four years to name its candidate.

Q: There's a wide range of celebrity readers for Bookmarks. How did you get the big names?

First, we had a brainstorming session to come up with ideas about books we want to tell and the
messages we want to cover. And the four core things that these books cover are identity, respect,
justice and action. So we thought about what authors have already published books that really
cover and tell these messages. We had lists, and Netflix has very high, powerful people that can
join all these groups together.

I think a lot of the people on the show, you can tell through their readings that they're extremely
passionate and they want kids to love these stories just as much as they do.

Q: With all the books out there, was it hard to select this dozen?

It was definitely a difficult process. I think it's super important that the books have captivating
visuals, really important stories and those four core components that we were focused on. A lot of

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stories don't hit that note right away. I think the books that have been selected really, really
represent Black girls' experience, Black boys' experience and Black families' experience. I think we
really hit the nail on the head, and I'm super proud of the collection that has been chosen.

Q: Your message from your own book is about being a force for change, and you were a part of the
DNC. How was that experience?

I was excited and definitely apprehensive because I wasn't necessarily sure where I wanted to
stand on a political point of view. But me and my parents had an in-depth conversation, and I
decided to do it. It's important to me to show that I want to see change, and by making this
decision, I express my interest in changing the world, and I express my interest in making sure
politicians care about the voices of Black girls and girls like me.

I was definitely a bit nervous at first, but people have received it so well, and I felt so much
kindness.

Q: How is the #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign going?

We were planning on donating books to Jamaica and Ghana on April 1 this year, but given
everything that is happening with COVID-19, we're still collecting books. We have a lot of people
donating, which is super exciting. I think some people forgot that we're still collecting books, and
it makes me super happy that people always remember that the message is still there. And that's
how I started, so I want to make sure we always come back to #1000BlackGirlBooks and the
campaign itself.

Q: Previous articles have you saying that there's a lot of negativity out there these days, and not a lot
of optimism. Do you feel a bit more hope on the horizon with more young people a part of the
conversation these days?

I think there's a lot more hope on the horizon. I think watching people who look like me be
attacked and have a lot of hatred going on can definitely be dogmatic for a lot of people. But I think
seeing "Bookmarks" happening and being grateful for places like Netflix for trying to create space
for girls like me and authors who are sending me copies of their books and continuing to write
stories even when it's difficult has given people a lot of hope. I think it can be super sad
sometimes, definitely scary — you're not being listened to, you're not being heard. But I hope we
can always look at it from an optimistic point of view.

Q: Have you received calls from educators who want to use your books in their curriculum, given
more remote learning these days?

I've gotten a lot of positive messages from educators. They're definitely looking for more titles to
include in their libraries and to try to take the new school year as an opportunity to be better on
social justice matters and making sure that they are intentionally including the stories of Black
girls. I have a resource guide, a list of 1,000 books I collected. I've been recommending that to
people. For "Bookmarks," we will also have a resource guide.

"Bookmarks" episodes began September 1 on Netflix.

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Quiz

1 Read the paragraph from the section "Netflix Series Highlights Black Experience."

Dias serves as host and executive producer of the series, whose books and conversations center
on themes of identity, respect, justice and action. Among the guests are rapper, actor and writer
Common, actor and author Lupita Nyong'o, comedian, actor and author Tiffany Haddish, and
ballerina and author Misty Copeland.

Which of the following can be inferred from this paragraph?

(A) Marley was extremely proud to have worked with people like Common and Lupita Nyong'o.

(B) Marley could not have gotten these people on the show without help from Netflix.

(C) Marley played a large role in ensuring the show was made in the way she envisioned.

(D) The new show choose to use only famous Black authors to read the stories.

2 Read the following paragraph from the section "Dias Wants To Spark Families Learning Together."

"The series came about, not as a direct comeback to the attack on Black people, but really to
spark conversation and offer ways for kids and families to talk about their identity," Dias said. "It's
super important for #1000BlackGirlBooks and now for 'Bookmarks' to really provide access
through children's books to encourage families to watch together, to read together, to learn
together." She hopes to create "campaigns that can change the world and really shift
conversations about Black identities, Black lives and Black people."

Which idea is BEST supported by this paragraph?

(A) Social media is a critical part of starting a social justice movement.

(B) Books have a special ability to reshape how people see the world and themsevles.

(C) Marley is destined to become a famous social activist.

(D)
1000BlackGirlBooks would not be
successful without the show.
3 Why did the author conclude the article by focusing on educators?

(A) to show who Marley's main supporters are

(B) to illustrate how some people disagree with Marley's views

(C) to offer a prediction for Marley's future in education

(D) to emphasize the impact that Marley has had

4 Which of the following statements BEST represents Marley's approach in selecting the books for the show?

(A) She chose the best-reviewed books by Black authors she could find.

(B) She let the Black celebrities reading the books choose what they read.

(C) She focused on books that represent the experience of Black families.

(D) She opted for books that shared a message with her own book.

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