COLOUR ME BEAUTIFUL

a colouring book ft. women of colour

Aura had long hair and was convinced she was a mermaid. She was working on

holding her breath for longer and longer, and she could nearly do two full

minutes. She was holding out to become a marine biologist.

Aura

Dalali

Dalali only wore black, but she wore it well. Sometimes she’d come downstairs and her

whole family would sigh and at least one person would make a joke about a funeral,

but she loved it - it made her feel professional and powerful, and her black kitten, Scout, liked sleeping on her tummy

and climbing up her legs and his fur wouldn’t show up this way. It only made sense.

Ela ran the bakery. She ran everywhere else, too - she loved running, and would wear very

bright running shoes with pastel marks on them to make sure everyone else knew

she loved running. Leticia always said hello to her when she was in, and Ela would

always ask after her grandma.

Ela

Khaira

Khaira collected fl owers. When they dried out she would press them and stick them to the

wall - her landlord hated it, but she didn’t care. When she fi rst moved in, she could never afford fl owers, but then she started

picking them instead. She sent them to friends in tiny jars with ribbon

wrapped round them.

Lakota

Lakota worked in a coffee shop. Making people smile was her favourite - and they

always did when she handed over their fl at whites. Waking them up, brightening their

day by letting the curtain through, she always said. She made friends with dogs that were passing by - if any wandered in,

they’d never leave without a crumble of cake from behind the counter.

Lei liked blasting rap music really loud from her mum’s car speakers. Her mother didn’t really mind, but she didn’t understand what they were saying, either. Sometimes they switched CDs and listened to eighties hits,

which was her mother’s favourite.

LEI

Mahalia

Mahalia liked big heels, but she could never manage to wear them out of the house.

They’d always get stuck, or she’d trip and drop something. It seemed to be a sign. She

was always falling over, but everyone thought she was very

graceful in her ballet fl ats.

Nakida

Nakida was always tinkering with her dad’s car - she wanted to be a scientist. She’d fi gured out how to take the whole engine apart. Now she just had to fi gure out how to put it back together. Where

was that instruction manual?

Parul had a bright raincoat, but she never wore it. She preferred to let it sleep in the

closet because it was dark in there, and she fi gured it needed the colour

more than she did.

Thuy

Thuy was best friends with a ghost who fl oated like a cloud. The ghost always joked that it was because they looked like one. Thuy

always laughed, put an arm around them, and said: ‘You

remind me of home.’

Leticia

Letícia spread bright colours over her lips on a daily basis and wore short skirts on

the bike ride to her grandma’s house. Her hair was like fl ames behind her. She

always carried fresh apples in the basket and swung by the bakery - her grandma

had a thing for cupcakes.