Top 68 Quotes & Sayings by Marley Dias

I have some friends who love to perform and wish they were getting the attention I am getting. But that doesn't stop them from supporting me.

I think the biggest thing, where my passionate-ness comes from, is that I love reading, and it is something that I really care about.

Like feminism, I want to create systems and structures for the equity for all people, especially girls and women.

My passion for books has changed my life.

I use Spotify to listen to music when I am taking a shower and when I am doing projects.

Girls of color and young women need to be seen, heard, and valued. Schools can help make this happen by including our stories in the curriculum.

In my class - in all fifth-grade classes - we were required to read 'classics,' books like 'Shiloh,' which is about a white boy and the dog he rescues. And 'Old Yeller,' which is about a white boy and the dog that rescues him. And 'Where the Red Fern Grows,' which is about a white boy and the two dogs he trains.

Dressing in an androgynous way, mixing up the masculine and feminine, blurring those boundaries - I'm cool with that. No one should ever be limited by stereotypes of gender, just as no one should ever be limited by stereotypes of race.

I believe that feminism needs to teach more girls about how to make institutional changes and how to further engage men and boys into being our allies.

When I get lost in a book, it's just, like, magical!

The first black girl book I fell in love with was most likely 'Please, Puppy, Please' by Spike Lee and Tonya Lee.

Black History Month could focus less on slavery and civil rights and more on the Harlem Renaissance and everything we have achieved. I want to know about the whole black experience.

I travel a lot, so I know that it's important to have people in your life to keep you ground.

Fashion is very important to me. I dress androgynously - I absolutely despise dresses and skirts and tights - and I started wearing glasses in the third grade.

I think it is important to speak your mind. Tolerance of the ignorance sends the wrong message to kids.

I think the biggest thing is that success is not measured by whether or not you're on 'CBS This Morning' or whether or not you make the local news station.

Most girls spend most of their time at school. If real change comes from hearing our voices, it has to start in school, but school is a place where black girls tend to experience microaggressions. Microaggressions are not always obvious, ugly, or terrible things, but they make you feel as though your voice does not matter.

I am slightly obsessed with beauty products.

I want other kids to see the joy in reading and literacy and how, if you read about things, they become so much closer, and if you're willing to put in the effort and time and passion, you can really understand them.

It was the desire to see black girls and our experiences in the books that I was given to read at school that forced me to speak my truth. I launched #1000BlackGirlBooks, a book drive to collect the stories of women of color.

Even though I wear glasses, I'm not just a mousy person who stays in my room - even though I do sometimes stay in my room and read.

Yes, you can be passionate about school and fashion simultaneously. The two are not mutually exclusive - one doesn't cancel out the other.

I don't want to bring negative energy to myself, and if people feel one way about me, I don't want that changing how I feel or what I believe.

People say, 'Dream big!' - but you have to think about the logistics. It's not just coming up with a great idea; it's how you can sell or market or promote that great idea.

Anyone can change the world however they want for the better!

Black girl stories aren't just for black girls: they're for everybody.

If you like reading, you are allowed to like to dance and to like to sing and to like to act.

'Marley Dias Gets It Done - And So Can You' is a book about how girls who are 10 and up - and everyone who is 10 and up, basically - can use their gifts and talents to help the world in a way that's unique to them.

My parents taught me the importance of telling the truth no matter what.

I come from a community that has a lot of white kids, and I notice how, a lot of times, they don't understand our differences and how I come from a different culture and my ancestors are different and my history is different.

Innovation comes from, one, acknowledging yourself; two, studying and understanding the problem; and three, finding a solution.

When I was really little, I wanted to be our first woman president. I always knew I want to be the kind of grownup who makes people's lives better. And since that's pretty much the job of the President of the United States, it seemed like a good idea.

I love YouTube. You can find me there watching cat videos. I even like to watch other people play video games. I know it's a bit creepy, but it's my thing.

As members of society, we should always be pushing our girls to strive to be the best and to speak up and out about issues we see.

I suggest school buses make stops at local libraries so that children who do not have resources like books at home can get access.

I wasn't seeing black girls in the books I was assigned to read at my school. I was tired of only reading about white boys and dogs and wanted to collect books featuring black girls.

My goal for the #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign is to create systemic change across all school systems. I want there to be diverse books that reflect the lives of every person, regardless of whether or not they are in the majority.

Hillary Clinton is someone who's never waited around for someone else to do the hard work. She's been an organizer and a change-maker for her whole life, practically.

I think writing gives me creative freedom.

I have had the same friends for a really long time, and I like them because they like some of the stuff I like, but they are also really different from me.

Reading has been a part of my life ever since I was born.

If I meet someone who's Native American and I don't know anything about indigenous people in New Jersey - which I kind of don't, which is not really good - I can learn more and more about their lives, and that makes me a more open person and a more accepting person.

I've learned to use big words. Because I'm an avid reader, I can prove myself as a smart and diligent person.

I am unapologetic about the need for social change, greater inclusion, and equity.

I believe activism is the true source of change in the world. Pushing to change social structures in communities that you are a part of is critical for making real lasting change.

When you are reading about a book, you focus on the main character, of course. When you have something in common with them and connect with them, you remember the lessons they learned, and then you can apply them to your life. So you can live the best life you can.

I'm working to create a space where it feels easy to include and imagine black girls and make black girls like me the main characters of our lives.

I go to Amazon to browse for things I can then go find at the mall. It's like window shopping online. I want to touch the things that I buy. I am the kid who still likes actual books, bookstores, and libraries.

When I create a story, I can make it however funny, sad, or happy I want it to be. And when I read, I feel like I'm in the story, and I get to experience it. It feels like I'm watching someone else do something, but I'm doing the thing that the character is doing as well.

Between school, homework, tests, and play time with my friends, I have worked my butt off to create this space where black girls' stories are read and celebrated in schools and libraries.

For kids in 2nd or 3rd grade, I would recommend the 'Dear America' series. Most of the stories in the 'Dear America' series, if they have black girls, are about them being enslaved, but they escape or do something really adventurous.

It isn't always simple when America discovers you at 11 years old. Suddenly, it's not just homework that you're responsible for. Your name becomes a hashtag, and if you're lucky, you might even get invited on 'Ellen.'

I have role models, but I take the attributes of the people that I admire, and I use them to create my best self.

All my friends can probably only name one publishing house, and that is Scholastic; they are everywhere. Scholastic is the perfect partner for spreading my message of diversity, inclusion, and social action.

My mom was born in Jamaica and has always been around a community of black people, so she encouraged me to get out and act. My dad, on the other hand, is from suburban Massachusetts, so he had not been around a lot of black people.

Frustration is fuel that can lead to the development of an innovative and useful idea.

My health and schoolwork come first. I work hard to get lots of sleep, but I probably work just as hard to spend time with friends.

I like NPR's podcasts because I can listen to those on the bus.

Every time I've heard Ava DuVernay speak, I have learned so much.

Social actions means that you find an issue in your community, and you create an initiative to solve that issue or to help people.