12-Year-Old Marley Dias Is Literally Writing the Book on Inclusivity in Kids’ Books

Nov 30, 2017

Back in November 2015, then-10-year-old Marley Dias put a call out with the hashtag #1000BlackGirlBooks to collect and donate 1,000 books featuring the stories of Black girls.

She wanted to see less Old Yeller and Where the Red Fern Grows on school reading lists and more Esperanza Rising and Brown Girl Dreaming, she told the New York Times in 2016. Preach.

Two years later, she has collected over 10,000 books according to Forbes, who recently named her to its 30 Under 30 list in the media category for 2017. And in January 2018, Scholastic will be publishing her book, Marley Dias Gets It Done — And So Can You!. It’s billed as a guide for young folks to take up activism and social justice and to effectively champion their causes and make an impact in their communities.

Marley’s mother, Janice Johnson Dias, is the president of the GrassRoots Community Foundation and a sociology professor who dispels any stage mom notions, telling the New York Times, “I have other stuff to do” — a succinct and exemplary combo of motivation, support, and general badassery. But that’s not to say that Mama Dias hasn’t helped out: Her foundation has published a resource guide to accompany Dias’ campaign and assisted in reviewing and cataloging the collected titles.

As she told Forbes, she had one problem: not enough books featuring Black girls in her school. She saw a few solutions: Get herself more of the books she craved; track down authors and pester them into writing the books she wanted to read; or start a public campaign to collect and distribute the books while raising awareness with educators and lawmakers about the issue so the underrepresentation received widespread attention that could lead to systemic solutions.

“Frustration is fuel that can lead to the development of an innovative and useful idea,” she told Forbes. Mic drop.

Coming in with that sort of clarity, insight, and drive before hitting her teens, it’s no wonder Dias has literally written the book on how to make the world a better, more inclusive place.

This piece is part of our new project “Year in Women.” Check out all the women featured:

(Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty)

It's Been 5 Years, And The Covey Sisters Are Still The Heart Of "To All The Boys I've Loved Before"

I think we can all agree that the Netflix sensation To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before has firmly cemented itself as a classic teen movie (and one of the best rom-coms) that will continue to get better the more we watch it. Needless to say, Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) captured our hearts with his swagger, his symphony of “whoa”s, and that back pocket spin. But truth be told, 16-year-old Lara Jean (Lana Condor) and the Covey sisters became our #WCWs with their solidarity, healthy family dynamic, and emphases on self-love and self-confidence. That goes hand-in-hand with how proud they are about their Korean heritage and how it’s become such an integral part of their identities. That sense of confidence and deep pride emanates from their characters throughout the film and is manifested in everything they do.

Despite their high school and middle school settings and accompanying cliques, rumors, and Instagram posts, the Covey sisters are lacking in teenage angst or sisterly rivalry, quite comfortable in driving each other to school and spending the night watching reruns of The Golden Girls without lamenting about their — er, Lara Jean’s — lack of a social life.

Image via Netflix

(L-R) Janel Parrish as Margot and Anna Cathcart as Kitty in To All The Boys I've Loved Before.

“I love The Golden Girls and I love hanging out with you,” Lara Jean tells 11-year-old Kitty, who canceled her own plans so her sister wouldn’t be alone. But boyfriend or not, these sisters put themselves and each other first. They are more content with loving each other and themselves than finding love — or at least needing it for validation.

Before oldest sister Margot leaves for college in Scotland, she [SPOILER ALERT!] breaks up with her longtime boyfriend Josh. She doesn't want to be tied down to a relationship and she's unwavering in her decision. This decision goes some way in dismantling the pattern that we’ve seen so many times in pop culture where the girl often gets left in the dust for greener pastures. Don’t get me wrong: Every time I watch To All The Boys I've Loved Before, my heart still hurts for Josh and I want the boy next door to have his own happy ending. But Margot’s decision to be selfish about her college experience is not cold or harsh; it’s a power move, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

And while Margot jets off for a new adventure, Kitty deliberately sends out the love letters Lara Jean wrote to all her former crushes, including Josh. She gives Lara Jean the push she needs to get out of her shell and act on her feelings, thereby jumpstarting the premise of the movie. Not only does Lara Jean start a fake relationship with Peter to throw off Josh so Margot doesn’t get upset, but she unequivocally shuts down all conversations with him. She refuses to give even the tiniest thought to any lingering feelings she may have. It’s less of an adherence to an arbitrary girl code and more of a natural decision that her love for Margot trumps any adolescent feelings she’s had for Josh.

Image via Netflix

(L-R) Anna Cathcart as Kitty, Janel Parrish as Margot, and Lana Condor as Lara Jean in To All The Boys I've Loved Before.

What the movie so powerfully captures here is Covey girls’ sense of camaraderie — the proverbial “sisters before misters”— that invites viewers to understand that this story, at its core, is a celebration of sisterhood. It’s a rom-com of sisterly love (and the extents the Coveys will go for one another) more than it is of romantic love with cute teen boys.

To All The Boys I've Loved Before doesn’t use gimmicky storylines of sibling rivalry or slut-shaming (Peter is quick to shut that down) to turn this into a caricature version of high school, nor does it perpetuate Lara Jean’s seemingly invisible persona to maintain the shy vs. popular girl dichotomy. In fact, she’s stronger and bolder than Genevieve and Peter — two of the most popular people in school — combined. Lara Jean might not be very experienced, but from the beginning, she’s sure of herself, comfortable in her own skin, and does not ever feel the need to conform to a high school status quo to make a place for herself. When Genevieve makes a snarky remark about her platform boots, Lara Jean is quick to remind her they're vintage. As Peter says, she doesn’t let Gen steamroll over her.

Image via Netflix

(L-R) Lana Condor as Lara Jean, Anna Cathcart as Kitty, and Noah Centineo as Peter in To All The Boys I've Loved Before.

Lara Jean is scared of getting hurt, but she makes Peter work for her trust because she knows her worth. She’s insecure about his feelings for her, but not about whether or not she’s good enough for him. As far as she’s concerned, they’re on equal footing; she makes that quite clear when she suggests that if he’s only dated one girl, he’s not quite the expert he thinks he is. Though the fake romance is his idea, the ball has been in her court since the beginning. She’s delineated her boundaries and decided when to give him a chance and express her true feelings to him. Both scenes of her strutting through the lacrosse field to talk to Peter — when she’s good and ready, mind you, with her back ramrod straight and her head held high — are proof of how self-assured and in control she chooses to be; her popularity or lack thereof has no bearing on that.

Lara Jean’s character may have moments of peak embarrassment in this movie, but she carries herself with confidence and owns her actions, unapologetic about who she is. Much to our chagrin, this movie is fictional, but Lara Jean’s confidence is contagious and all-too-real. While there aren’t enough Peter Kavinskys in the world for all of us, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before sets a wonderful standard of self-love and confidence that are not bound by social hierarchy. As much as we love falling in love, our love stories start with ourselves.

What's your favorite part of To All The Boys I've Loved Before? Let us know in the comments!

This post has been updated.

Lead image via Netflix

Nicole Kidman Is Officially Back For "Nine Perfect Strangers" Season 2

There's something appealing about an anthology show. You know, the ones where we get a new cast every season but the location or the themes remain the same (hello White Lotus and American Horror Story!). Your next TV show obsession is right around the corner because Hulu just announced the full lead cast for Nine Perfect Strangers season 2 and it's literally almost too good to be true. Keep reading for everything you need to know!