While struggling to keep safe in New York City, an early Covid-19 hotspot in the US, Karee Luna lost her job.

Then came the pain of “seeing people that looked like me being murdered on camera”.

Uncertain as to what she should do, she started drawing. It led to the Kids 4 Black Lives Coloring Book and a Kickstarter campaign that she is hoping will provide the funds for it, by December 7.

“I was already with anxiety,” said the 29-year-old who designed accessories sold to young children by Disney, Nickelodeon and LOL girls until the company she worked for shut its doors this year. “With social media, with everything, my generation is going, going, going. I think I was so afraid of losing my job; my focus was so much on my job that I wasn’t actually having fun any more.

“That was my greatest fear and then, all of a sudden, my greatest fear was presented to me and I didn’t know what to do. Like everybody else I was also fearful of getting sick, fearful of not having a job, of not knowing what to do next.”

With her parents, Jose and Gina Luna, in Bermuda she had to cope on her own. In New York in the midst of a pandemic, she watched as hundreds of protesters marched against the racial injustice of the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other African Americans.

“It was a lot; a lot of anxiety,” she said. “I was seeing people that looked like me being murdered on camera.

“I’ve protested before plenty of times but with Covid you have to [carefully] make that decision of whether you’re going to protest or not.”

New York City has reported 267,000 cases of the virus and close to 24,000 deaths.

Ms Luna decided not to participate but was then full of guilt as she wondered: “Am I doing everything I can for my community and my people?”

Also draining were well-intentioned calls from friends “of all nationalities and races” who wanted to know what they could do to help.

“I didn’t know,” said Ms Luna, a graphics designer who studied illustration and visual culture at the University of the Arts London. “I think we’ve done a great job of covering up these conversations, especially of trying to hide from them. We never are open with one another. I said just speak to your kids, speak to your family.”

The image of a young boy on his mother’s shoulders carrying a sign that read “Stop Killing Us!” captured her attention.

“It just blew me away,” she said. “I was loving the communication that the parents were having. We don’t realise that kids are hearing the protests; kids are watching the news with us. We may think they’re not paying attention but they are. And if we’re not giving them the right information it’s going to hinder them more, make them afraid of something that is our right to do as citizens.

“Safely protesting and peacefully protesting is our right. It shouldn’t be looked at as something dangerous or scary; it should be looked at as something powerful; that we have a say.”

The more she drew the more she felt her anxiety easing.

When her two-year-old cousin showed interest in her art, she realised that the images she’d created could be used as a teaching tool. Enthusiastic from the start, Justin Kwan and Christian Clouden became her partners on the project.

The book includes 12 illustrations inspired by children on the front line of Black Lives Matter protests. Each picture is accompanied by a quote from “influential leaders such as Michelle Obama, Angela Davis [and] Martin Luther King Jr”.

Said Ms Luna: “A lot of my friends said they don’t know how to speak to their kids about what’s happening. That’s what I wanted to give to parents – a small tool for them to use, something that can help them open up a conversation about what’s happening in our society at the moment.”

She hopes it will resonate with children in her neighbourhood in Brooklyn, in Bermuda and anywhere that “kids are being affected” by injustice.

“We have a lot going on over here,” she said. “We have [tomorrow’s] election, we have, unfortunately, people speaking about crime and murders; people losing their jobs. A lot of these kids are being affected and I wanted to make sure that we did what we could do to help.”

Once the book is launched in February, part proceeds of every sale will go towards helping Ivy Hill Prep buy items for its students.

“It’s a charter school here in Brooklyn that is doing amazing work,” Ms Luna said. “They’re really helping with the grades and getting these kids to have a great education. A lot of times education in these neighbourhoods is lacking. They don’t have the same amount of financing that a lot of other [wealthier] areas do. We wanted to help.”

For that to happen however, Ms Luna must raise the $5,000 needed to launch the colouring book next month. Aware that people might have concerns about using their cards online she chose Kickstarter, a “reputable” Brooklyn-based global crowdfunding platform, as a host.

“Right now this is just a dream that we have. We need the financing just to get it off and going,” she said.

“As of [today] we hit $2,288 so we’re well on our way but it’s an all or nothing thing – I’m impressing that to everyone. It’s not like we can get $4,500 and that’s fine. If we don’t make the full $5,000 we get nothing. No one gets anything; we’re not able to help the school and we’re not able to push this forward.”

With the holidays around the corner she and her partners decided on a December 7 deadline to ensure the books could be given as gifts.

People who commit $10 to the Kickstarter campaign will receive a sticker with the book logo attached; a $25 donation will get a book and an entire sheet of stickers; people who give $50 or more will receive a set of custom crayons with different flesh tones, the book and a sheet of stickers.

“We believe this is a great message, especially in these times and I know people are looking for items to give their kids that are fun but also educational,” Ms Luna said.

“I used to intern as a high school student [in New York] at the 92nd Street Y doing art with young children. I think that’s kind of where my passion is. My thing is, if I’m not able to make a change then it’s really not something I want to be doing every single day.

“I definitely want to be doing something where I can touch the people, especially the younger generation where we can help change the things that are happening with their young minds. Hopefully this book helps. They hear things that are being said whether it be from the older generation or things that are just coming out of TV; things that are inappropriate sometimes. If you don’t help them with understanding what’s happening they’re going to make up their own ideas or get them from somewhere else.”

To support Karee Luna’s Kickstarter campaign visit https://bit.ly/34IUf2s. For more information visit kids4blacklives.com