At 19, Marley Dias already has an astonishing résumé of achievements.
Nearly a decade ago, Dias, who is of Jamaican and Cape Verdean descent, founded the global campaign #1000BlackGirlBooks, which collected and donated over 15,000 books featuring Black girls as protagonists. When she was 14, she published the book Marley Dias Gets It Done: And So Can You! with an introduction by filmmaker Ava DuVernay. Now Dias, who is bisexual, is set to graduate from Harvard University in 2026 with a degree in Sociology and African American Studies.
Dias is open about the challenge of managing anxiety and depression: “I’ve worked hard to bring more balance to my life.” Her proudest 2024 accomplishment was working with the nonprofit Art School Africa in Cape Town. The opportunity came to fruition via an internship with the Harvard Center for African Studies, which allowed her to travel to South Africa and Zimbabwe for a month.
“Telling stories of LGBTQ+ folks through books, television, film, and intergenerational exchange is the key to moving from an ideology of ‘tolerance’ into a world of consciousness and liberation,” Dias says. @iammarleydias
