A Washington High School Senior’s Tribute To Black Hair Won Google’s National Doodle Contest, Turning A Celebration Of Culture And Self-Love Into A Nationally Recognized Work Of Art
Anyone who visited Google on Thursday, June 4, saw more than a search bar. They saw a tribute to Black hair, girlhood and cultural pride created by Washington high school senior Kameirah Johnson.
Johnson won Google’s national Doodle for Google contest, which invites students from kindergarten through 12th grade to create artwork based on a yearly theme. This year’s prompt was “My superpower is …” and Johnson answered with a piece centered on the power, beauty and history of Black hair.
Her winning illustration, “Hair Power: The Crown That Grows From Us,” shows three Black girls set against a celestial background. One wears loose coils, another wears afro puffs and the third wears long braids decorated with cowry shells. The word “Google” is worked into the design, as required by contest rules.
Johnson told TODAY that her inspiration came from her own experience growing up with pride in her natural hair and culture.
“Being Black, growing up with a lot of pride in my hair” helped shape the artwork, she said. She also credited her mother, Simone, for teaching her to embrace her hair early in life.
“When I was a little kid, I’d go to preschool, and every single week I would have a new hairstyle, whether it was braids, afro puffs, etc., and she just really taught me to love my hair and love my culture,” Johnson told TODAY.
Her mother said Johnson quietly entered the contest without telling the family. Simone also shared that the family did not fully understand the depth of Johnson’s artistic gift until others began noticing her work when she was in ninth grade.
When asked about her talent, Johnson simply told her mother, “Mom, it’s just a gift God gave me.”
A Scholarship And A Message For Young Black Girls
As the national winner, Johnson’s artwork was featured on Google’s homepage and she received a $55,000 college scholarship. She plans to use it at New York University, where she hopes to double major in studio art and economics.
Johnson said she wants her Google Doodle to inspire others to feel confident in who they are.
Her hope, she told TODAY, is “for a little Black girl to look at this and feel inspired, or really for anyone to look at this and feel inspired to live in their own skin, express themselves, and be who they are.”
For Johnson, Black hair was not just the subject of the artwork. It was the superpower.
