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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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 travel a lot, so I know that it's important to have people in your life to keep you ground.
Every time I've heard Ava DuVernay speak, I have learned so much.
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.
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 use Spotify to listen to music when I am taking a shower and when I am doing projects.
I am slightly obsessed with beauty products.
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.
When I get lost in a book, it's just, like, magical!
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.
I think it is important to speak your mind. Tolerance of the ignorance sends the wrong message to kids.
I think writing gives me creative freedom.
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.
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.
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.
