Local girls celebrated on mural in Indian Head
Artist draws portraits on Black Box Theater
Three young women had their portraits drawn in charcoal on the side of the Black Box Theater in Indian Head Saturday as part of a nationwide campaign to encourage residents to pay respect to their accomplishments, often in the face of adversity.
Lori Pratico of the “Girl Noticed” Mural Project began drawing the mural with charcoal early Saturday morning as residents gathered at the town hall next door to listen to music
and celebrate the occasion.
Pratico told the Maryland Independent that she selected the three girls — Chanté Coleman, Mylah Pope, and Lilliana Smith — from a list of nominations submitted by Phenomenal Young Women Inc., Cage Free Voices LLC, and REAL Women.
Diane Fennekohl of Girl Noticed explained that the murals are intentionally drawn in a medium that will fade over time as a way to encourage people to notice the girls before it’s too late.
“We hope that the permanent message stays behind, even though the temporary mural is gone,” Fennekohl said.
In the case of the Black Box Theater, the plans are to paint over the mural in a month.
The event kicked off the night before with creative workshops at the Village Green Pavilion.
Girl Noticed depictions have gone up in 10 different states representing 24 females, with Pratico adding Maryland, Virginia and Alaska to the list in 2018.
Coleman, 23, said that when she first heard that she had been selected, she was nervous and wondered why Pratico had chosen her. But the more she thought about it, she said, the more sense it made.
“After all I’ve been through, having accomplished so many goals, I think this was only right,” Coleman said.
Coleman got pregnant when she was in high school, but stayed in school and graduated, and even went on to earn a college degree in human relations and business from Trinity Washington University, all while raising her daughter.
“My friends tell me all the time that my motivation has encouraged them,” Coleman said. “I’m glad to be someone’s motivation and encouragement.”
Coleman said that her goal is to launch a nonprofit organization of her own to help other teen mothers pursue their dreams.
“A lot of them get sucked up into the system or sucked up into people’s negativity, and they stop following what they wanted to do because people have told them that they couldn’t,” Coleman said.
“You would be surprised how many people who tell me that I can’t do stuff all the time,” Coleman said. “But it gets done some way, somehow.”
Pope, who had just graduated 6th grade at DC Prep’s middle school the day before, joined her friends from Phenomenal Young Women to do a brisk business selling treats like fudge brownies and cupcakes during the event on Saturday.
“I thought it was really cool,” Pope said about learning she had been selected to have her portrait drawn.
Smith said that she had learned from her father that she had been selected. As she talked, Pratico was just beginning to draw her portrait on the side of the theater, starting with her eyes.
Did she know how she was going to feel when she saw the finished portrait?
“I’m going to feel like a star,” Smith said.