There’s a 13-year-old on the “Forbes” 30 Under 30 List, and we are not worthy
Our teen years included a few rough moments and a lot of fun times. But what they didn’t include was a mention on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. In fact, it’s somewhat rare for a teen to earn a spot on the list, but 13-year-old Marley Dias managed to do it. And when you learn more about her, you’ll just wonder why she didn’t make it onto the list sooner.
At the ripe old age of 11, Dias launched the #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign, aiming to make sure that everyone had access to books that featured black girl protagonists. The idea came to her when she was talking to her mom and realizing that so many of her books featured “white boys and dogs.” Instead of simply accepting it, she decided to change things up and find ways to add much-needed diversity to the children’s literature that people had access to.
"I told [my mom] I was going to start a book drive, and a specific book drive, where black girls are the main characters in the book and not background characters or minor characters," Dias explained to PhillyVoice.
Since she’s gotten so involved with books, she even decided to write her own — Marley Dias Gets It Done: And So Can You! was released today, January 30th, and is already a #1 best-seller on Amazon. In the book, which includes an introduction by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Ava DuVernay, children can learn about important topics like social justice and activism. Pretty much, Dias is making sure that kids know they can make a difference.
Dias is also a fantastic public speaker. Just watch this incredible talk she did for Inbound, about doing your best.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-aLxsQRhdA?feature=oembed
Just another reminder — she’s only 13. So she can’t run for president just yet.
She’s also done a bunch of interviews about her new book. Her professionalism and talent shine through every time.
“Success is not measured…by the places you go and the materialistic things, but it’s the people that you touch in the places that you’re servicing. So I’m servicing black girls and I’m servicing educators and all kids to see the beauty and diversity of people,” Marley Dias says pic.twitter.com/1H5xkBQNHF
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 30, 2018
We’re so proud of Dias for getting a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Not only is it well deserved, but it’s proof that kids can make such a big difference in the world if they have the determination. We know we’re going to see so many great things from her in the future!
