The drawing of a little girl’s face was tossed in the garbage a few times before it became immortalized by a South Side mother.
The drawing of a little girl’s face was tossed in the garbage a few times before it became immortalized by a South Side mother.
Shannon Hill Muhammad, owner of This Lil’ Light of Mine, Inc. merchandise company, said a few years ago her then-fourth grade daughter drew a picture of a happy little girl one day for a class project and filed it away. When it was time to clean her room, the picture was put in the trash pile.
“I noticed it and asked why she was throwing it away. She said it was just another picture. I didn’t see it that way so I picked it up. Some time later, I noticed it in the garbage again. That was when I put the picture in a safe place,” Hill Muhammad told the Defender.
The mother said the girl’s face depicted such joy that the image needed to be shared with others. That’s when the idea to put the face on Tshirts, tote bags and hats was born.
“When you see her face, she looks so happy and it definitely projects self-esteem. I refer to her as the Black girls’ Hello Kitty,” Hill Muhammad said of the merchandise geared for girls under age 13 and sold in a store on 71st Street and Jeffery Boulevard.
Her now-13-year-old daughter gives her input occasionally about the merchandise, but prefers to remain hands-off.
“She’s shy about it and a little embarrassed. She doesn’t want the attention,” the mother said.
About Post Author
