Activist Marley Dias Talks to A Wrinkle in Time Star Storm Reid About Black Girls Saving the World

BY MARLEY DIAS via https://www.elle.com

I spend a lot of time with adults, so I was very excited to interview someone my own age—or at least in my age range. Storm Reid is a phenomenal new actress starring in A Wrinkle in Time, the new movie directed by one of my favorite humans, Ava DuVernay.

Together with the rest of this diverse cast, Storm, who plays hero Meg Murray, is reinventing who we think can be a lead character. DuVernay picked the extremely talented 14-year-old black girl for the role, even though Meg is white in the book.

After school earlier this week, I called Storm to ask her questions about this role, her faith, her social life, and the lessons she has learned from women like Ava DuVernay and Oprah and so many more fantastic trailblazers. We talked about the movie, her career, and how she balances work and friends. For girls like me, Storm is emblematic of black girl excellence and magic. And I know that with A Wrinkle in Time, she will create space for a new generation of change-makers and warriors to see themselves on screen. I am so excited to see it.

The truth is when I met Storm in person in Los Angeles this past December, I knew she was a warrior and a boss. Who else could save the world but a black girl?

Hi, Storm. I have some questions prepared, and I promise they’re not the boring ones like, “What inspired you to pick this role,” or, “What’s your favorite thing to do.” I tried to come up with questions that I hope you don’t usually get asked.

Okay, cool.

You’re the main character in A Wrinkle in Time. I want to know how it feels to be a black girl, saving the world. Did you ever see yourself in role like that in the books that you read?

I never saw a little African-American girl saving the world. So to be able to be that for not only myself, but girls who look like me is really important and inspiring. Unfortunately, we …

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