Badass 11-Year-Old Started a Book Drive for #1000BlackGirlBooks

Marley Dias believes that kids everywhere should be able to see themselves in their favorite books.

By Zoe Donaldson

Photo: Courtesy of Marley Dias

After growing frustrated with her class's emphasis on stories about "white boys and their dogs," Marley Dias, an intrepid 11-year-old from New Jersey, created her own syllabus called #1000BlackGirlBooks. Her mission: collect 1,000 books that feature black female protagonists and donate the haul to a school in Jamaica. She's collected 4,000 books and counting. The end.

Watch Marley's interview on CBS This Morning and check out some of the books she's collected below.

#1000blackgirlbooks #books #librariesofinstagram In Materials Management #PGCMLS. Before shipping to the library branches...

A photo posted by PGCMLS Libraries (@pgcmls) on Mar 11, 2016 at 12:48pm PST

Happy International Women's Day. Invest in girls today for they are the women of tomorrow. #1000BlackGirlBooks #RoomForChange #SuperCamp #affirmingbeauty #SuperGirls

A photo posted by GrassROOTS Community Foundatio (@grassrootsfound) on Mar 8, 2016 at 8:27am PST

#tbt to the time 11-year-old Marley Dias started a movement to share books with more characters who looked like her. You rock, Marley. Just sent a few squad favorites your way -- including one by @tanibrown's mom and another by @porterbraswell. Keep at it! #jopwellrecs #1000blackgirlbooks #bethechange

A photo posted by Jopwell (@jopwell) on Mar 17, 2016 at 6:22am PDT

This month in our #BabyBookClub we'll be following Sassy and her big ole feet on her journey from the wings to center stage...Join Us!!! #1000blackgirlbooks #wecute @therealdebbieallen @kadirnelson #bookclub @cobbcountylibrary

A photo posted by Ms. Ayers (@thecoloredtchr) on Mar 2, 2016 at 12:51pm PST

Yesterday Ms. Marley D. returned to her school in New Jersey after a long & necessary #BlackGirlInspiration Tour across the nation (and Jamaica)! For those that have been living under a rock for the last 30+ days, Marley is the @grassrootsfound creator of #1000BlackGirlBooks! Here she is reading to a group of kindergarteners at her very own school. What an inspiration you are, Marley! So proud of you! #ForTheLoveOfBlackGirls. #WorldBookDay #BlackGirlhood

A photo posted by UNIQUELY YOU SUMMIT (#UYS) (@uniquelyusummit) on Mar 4, 2016 at 8:23am PST

From the April 2016 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine