malavika kannan 

ABOUT

the lowdown.

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I'm an 18-year-old Indian-American social organizer, writer, and rising freshman at Stanford University. In 2018, I founded the Homegirl Project: a girl-led movement empowering women of color through storytelling and mentorship. Homegirl Project has expanded to include 100 girls on the team, 100,000 hits on homegirlproject.org, 2000 members of the Homegirl network, and contributors on every continent, except for Antarctica—at least, until I can teach penguins to read. Through Homegirl Project, I was recognized as a 2018 HerLead Fellow, 2019 Princeton Prize in Race Relations Certificate winner, and 2019 Cameron Impact Scholar. 

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I'm passionate about progressive politics, serving on the national Women's March Youth team to amplify youth power in intersectional feminism. I've also worked on gun violence prevention, organizing actions through March For Our Lives and rallying students in the Central Florida area; I also interned on Stephanie Murphy for Congress and was selected for the 2019 US Senate Youth Program. This summer, I'll be in DC for the prestigious collegiate Congressional legislative internship.

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As a writer, I’m convinced that words have tremendous potential when it comes to the business of changing the world. I cover issues like race, feminism, culture, gun violence, and politics for outlets including Washington Post, HuffPost, Teen Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Broadly, and VICE, among other places. In 2018, my HuffPost piece "What Having A Name That Nobody Can Pronounce Taught Me Who I Really Am" went viral, exploring the first-generation immigrant experience with humor and depth. My writing has also been recognized by the National YoungArts Foundation, Scholastic Art & Writing, Library of Congress, and the J.F.K. Library.

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I'm also the author of The Bookweaver's Daughter, a middle-grade feminist fantasy novel set in India. The Bookweaver's Daughter will release in 2020 through Tanglewood Publishing—more details to come!

Ultimately, I’m passionate about making the world a kinder place by empowering historically marginalized groups—women, people of color, youth—to speak our truths, spark conversations, and create change. I’m currently making change in the intersection between creation and activism, and I’m trying to learn and grow as much as I can. And I’m just getting started.

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