Photo: Monique Coleman and Antonea Johnson (to the right of Coleman) (Rachel Runnals/UN Foundation)
So whaddya do when a bully tries to hate on you? You Man Girl Up, duh. At least that's what sixteen-year-old Antonea Johnson did, and now she's the talk of the talk of her town...
Throughout her teens, Johnson was teased about both her skin color and her mannerisms. Some classmates gave her the nickname "darkie," while others told Johnson that she acted "too-white" for her black skin. All that peer-inflicted-shade took a toll on the Kentucky kid, "It hurt a lot, I'd just sit and cry," she said.
But while flipping through the pages of Seventeen magazine, Johnson came across an ad for a Girl Up (an org that unites girls to change the world) and Clean and Clear's Facebook campaign celebrating the next "HERo." If she won, she'd fly to New York City, stay in a cool hotel, and tour the Seventeen office. She submitted a video promising to stand up against bullying, and to promote self-love...and then, she won! Johnson made her whirlwind trip to NYC on Friday -- where she raided the Seventeen fashion closet, and rubbed shoulders with High School Musical star Monique Coleman at the United Nations. While she was here, she became more inspired than ever to Girl Up to bullies.
"I'm not going to cry about [being bullied] anymore," Johnson told me at the United Nations. "I'm gonna start my own Girl Up club in my school and teach girls that they can change the world. They can't just want to change it either, they have to go out there and make it happen." Armed with pamphlets, pencils, a $500 grant toward her work for Girl Up and a pat on the back from Monique Coleman herself, Johnson headed back to her Kentucky hometown a force to be reckoned with. So, bullies, be verrrry careful.
actTAKE ACTION!
Bring Girl Up To Your School
Start a Girl Up Club like Antonea is planning to do!
