MINISODE: 15-year-old Marley Dias on her push to diversify children's literature

The Deciding Decade with Pete Buttigieg

It's important, but not often prioritized, that younger generations see themselves in the stories before them. Are there characters who have similar backgrounds, characteristics, and experiences to them? Do they see their families and neighborhoods reflected in what they read? Too often, the answer is no. But at 15, Marley Dias has already done a lot to change that. In 2015, she launched the #1000BlackGirlBooks drive to collect and donate 1,000 children’s books featuring Black female protagonists. To date, she’s collected over 12,000 books. Continuing our series of conversations with youth leaders, Pete talks to Marley about the lack of diversity in children's books, the importance of representation in the classroom, and the surprising pattern in the books she found.

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