As a young girl growing up in West Orange, New Jersey, 11-year-old Marley Dias complained to her mother that there were not enough main characters that looked like her in mandatory school readings. So when she was 12, Dias started #1000BlackGirlBooks, with the end goal of collecting 1,000 children’s books that featured Black girls as the protagonists. Since then, she has now collected and distributed over 12,000 books. 

In 2015, she was considered one of Time Magazine’s 25 most influential teens. Along with that, she has written and published a book of her own called Marley Gets It Done: And So Can You. Appearing on several talk shows, such as The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Ellen Show, Dias has made a statement and changed many lives through her brave actions. Today, she has over 100,000 followers on Instagram and continues to be an inspiration to many.

She advocates for social justice and racial inequities by speaking at public conferences, protests, and social media. 

Dias is also the host of the Netflix Original series, Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices, where celebrities read children’s books written by Black authors to spark conversation about equality, self-worth, and anti-racism. 

In a short amount of time, Dias has achieved several milestones. As she continues to get older, her impact becomes more vital. Marley Dias is undoubtedly a Black History Month Unsung Hero.