#1000BlackGirlBooks Aims to Diversify Reading

Reading Drive to Find Books Featuring Black Girls

Marley Dias is only 11-years-old, but she loves to read. As a small child her mother would read with her a lot, but as she has got older she says that she got “sick of reading about white boys and dogs.” She could have just complained, but instead she’s started a literary movement aiming to find 1,000 black girls’ books where black females take the lead.

Her mother says that as a young black girl in the USA identification is a big deal, and Marley wanted to read about characters like herself, protagonists she can identify with. Marley’s mother Janice runs the GrassROOTS organisation and together they will be hosting a festival in St Mary in Jamaica on 11th February where all the collected books will be distributed to the schools and libraries there.

Marley is already half way to her target and along the way has discovered many books with diverse characters, solving her problem of finding reading material, and helping a really good cause in the process. If you’re wishing you could find #1000BlackGirlBooks for your diverse family then some of Marley’s discoveries are at the bottom of this blog.

First though, here’s Marley and her mum talking about the challenge and the things that inspired it.

And if you’d like to try some books from Marley’s catalogue, here are some of her recommended reads:

Brown Girl Dreaming – Jacqueline Woodson

(US)
(UK)

No Mirrors in My Nana’s House – Ysaye M. Barnwell

(US)
(UK)

The Story of Ruby Bridges – Robert Coles

(US)
(UK)

Please, Puppy, Please – Spike Lee & Tonya Lewis Lee

(US)
(UK)

If you know of a book that fits the #1000BlackGirlBooks criteria then you can send book donations to:

GrassROOTS Community Foundation, 59 Main Street, Suite 323, West Orange, NJ 07052