The media is filled with depicting the black woman in such a negative way that a Louisville mom, Miss Dee, decided to start the Miss Zee coloring book project in an effort to help bring a more positive image of black women for little girls.

On a mission to create a more positive image of women of color for her daughter, she went on a hunt to find some coloring books that mirrored her image. After she couldn’t find any coloring books for her daughter that mirrored her image, she decided to create her own.

The idea for Miss Zee’s coloring books originally came about when I couldn’t find any coloring books that contained characters with the likeness of my daughter, Zee. (Zee has medium brown skin and dark, puffy afro hair.) This resulted in me only buying her coloring books that contained images of non-human like characters like Hello Kitty. However, coloring books with human-like characters that had straight hair and white skin (when in color) were purchased for her by family members anyway. Rather than throwing those books away, I taught Zee how to create more diverse images by coloring them in different shades (including one similar to her’s) and how to draw on afros, to prevent her for from feeling guilt for not looking like these characters, as I did as a child.
I then realized that having to alter lines in a coloring book was far too much for a child to have to do. The image should already be there for one to color as-is. To combat this issue, I took it upon myself to create her a character that she could relate to.

From that point on, Miss Gee got to work and created afro-puffed characters and uploaded the to the world wide web for others to use. After getting so much positive feedback from other moms, teachers, and caregivers, she decided to create the coloring books and showcase the beauty of black girls.

In an attempt to getting her Miss Zee coloring books into the hands of little black girls all over the world, she is trying to raise $5000 through Kickstarter campaign. With only 14 days left and a little over $1500 raised, Miss Gee really needs you all to put your money where your mouth is to help get these coloring books on the shelves of stores near you.

To download a free Miss Zee coloring page and to donate to help being the Miss Zee coloring book to the masses, visit the book’s Kickstarter page here.