Yara Shahidi is not one to be silent about issues that are important to her. Her activism and her platform are very much intertwined, and she frequently speaks out about injustices — from white supremacy in Charlottesville to her political beliefs.

Now, the 17-year-old grown-ish actress is speaking out about diversity on-screen and how she came to be so entrenched in activism at such a young age.

“When we talk about diversity on screen we’re not just talking about color; we’re talking about gender identity, fluidity, and sexual identity,” she writes in an essay for i-D. “As a TV show, black-ish has created a national dialogue about social issues, whether it’s the episode in which we’re talking about police brutality, or when we talk about the complexity of being biracial.”

Yara also explains how she came to be so outspoken about issues that matter to her.

“I’m really into history and understanding past political movements, learning about those people who’ve made my literal existence possible, who have paved the way for me to thrive within the world,” she continues. “It wasn’t by accident that I am living here and living freely.”

While she may not be satisfied with what is going on in the world right now, Yara has a lot of hope for the future.

“What we’re about to unleash is the Kraken — my generation, Gen Z! So many young people are about to be of voting age, and now it’s time to prepare each and every one of us to understand not only how to vote, but the nuances of voting.”

Her voice is so important, and we’re so glad she is using it to inform and encourage her fans.

Katherine Langford shines in chic Prada dress 2017 Teen Choice Awards held at USC’s Galen Center on Sunday (August 13) in Los Angeles.

The 13 Reasons Why actress joined Victoria Justice and Yara Shahidi on the blue carpet at the annual event.

PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Katherine Langford

FYI: Yara wore a Fear of God jacket and pants with a Libertine top, Tiffany & Co. jewelry and Giuseppe Zanotti sandals. Former host Victoria wowed in a Nicolas Jebran jumpsuit, Stuart Weitzman shoes, Edie Parker clutch and John Hardy jewelry.

Check out 20+ pics inside of Katherine, Yara and Victoria…

Zendaya and Yara Shahidi show off their curls on the carpet at the 2017 Beautycon Los Angeles festival on Saturday (August 12) in Los Angeles.

The young stars even got to meet up at the event and Zendaya captured a little video to share her excitement and their huge smiles.

“On a positive note tho…I saw @yarashahidi #beautyconla,” she captioned the vid. We love seeing these two together!

“Let’s un-define beauty… When you un-define, it speaks to the idea that everything is a spectrum,” Yara said during her fireside chat at the event.

FYI: Zendaya wore Adam Lippes trousers, an x Karla crop top, Casadei shoes, and a Prada bag. Yara is wearing Schutz heels.

Yara Shahidi is giving us all the details about her brand new show, grown-ish!

“I’m doing five weeks of that [black-ish] before I start grown-ish,” Yara shared with ET at Variety’s Power of Young Hollywood. “And [later] the cast is getting together, and they’re a lot of my homies, which is really cool.”

Yara adds about the storylines and overall feel of the show, “I know as Zoey is growing and I’m personally growing, we’re doing it the right way where it’s truly a set where they care about not only me as a person but how we tell the story, too.”

grown-ish also stars Deon Cole, Chris Parnell, Emily Arlook, and Trevor Jackson, and is set to premiere next year on Freeform.

The news dropped that Yara Shahidi will be starring in the Black-ish spin-off, College-ish, back in May — but it turns out the show’s not going to be adopting that name after all!

In a new interview with BlackTreeTV, creator Kenya Barris revealed that the name has changed.

“It’s now called Grown-ish,” he explained. “We start the writer’s room Monday. Me and Yara have been in casting, looking for the best, brightest and newest faces. We have some people that we’re really excited about. She is amazing, she’s been my partner on this and it’s great.”

We can’t wait to watch Grown-ish, and find out which new faces Yara and Kenya discovered!

Watch the full video interview below:

Yesterday was Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, and Normani Kordei, Yara Shahidi, and Zendaya all took to Twitter and Instagram to raise awareness about the important day.

July 31 was not randomly chosen to highlight the disparity between what white men earn and what black women earn. That date actually represents the number of days into July 2017 that a black woman must work to earn the same pay a white man made in 2016.

While all women statistically make less than men for the same job, the gap is even more startling when it comes to women of color.

Z wrote about the day on her app.

Go inside to read Normani and Yara’s words… More Here! »

With all the makeup Yara Shahidi and her Black-ish co-stars have to wear on camera, she has spent a lot of time figuring out a great skin-care regimen!

Plus, the actress and face of Clean & Clear is still in her teen years, so she can’t avoid getting breakouts sometimes.

PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Yara Shahidi

“We have HD makeup on set to make us look poreless and non-human,” Yara told People. “But that means it’s really thick foundation and that’s all day every day five days a week from the end of July to beginning of March, which is a lot on one’s skin.”

“Especially whenever there is a mark that pops up, then you treat it by putting on more foundation,” she continued. “Isn’t that great? Not the greatest solution. I think that’s why it’s important for me to have that cleansing routine, otherwise I have had to deal with three seasons of continuous breakouts from the makeup.”

Click inside to check out Yara’s skin-care routine… More Here! »

Yara Shahidi is always trying to be the best person and activist she possibly can be, and she’s an extraordinary and proactive 17-year-old — so of course, when it comes to dating, she would want someone with interests that match hers.

“I’m a simple girl,” the black-ish actress hilariously tweeted today (July 15), “I don’t need chocolates & flowers. I just need someone to sponsor my favorite podcasts, donate to the ACLU, & fund PP.”

LOL! We aren’t surprised. Even when focusing on what she wants most for herself, Yara is more interested in helping the organizations she supports, like the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood.

Never change.