This teen’s art celebrating Black hair could land on Google’s homepage; now she needs your vote to win $55K

One vote for Kameirah Johnson’s Google Doodle “Hair Power” could help this high school student win a $55k scholarship. 

One Washington state high school student is celebrating the beauty of Black coils with Google. Kameirah Johnson, a senior at Lakeside High School in North Seattle, is one of five finalists in Google’s 2025-2026 “Doodle for Google” competition. The annual nationwide art contest invites students in grades K-12 to flex their creativity for a chance to have their Google Doodle featured on the website, as well as to win a scholarship and a tech package for their school. 

Out of the thousands of submissions from across the country, Johnson’s illustration was selected to be a finalist by this year’s judges, NBA All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo and 2025 National Teacher of the Year, Ashlie Crosson. 

“Hair Power: The Crown that Grows From Us,” featuring three Black girls’ curls, coils, and braids spelling out “Google,” was selected as a finalist. Falling under this year’s theme of “My superpower is…”, Johnson’s “Hair Power: The Crown that Grows From Us,” celebrates the beauty of textured hair, which she says is her superpower. 

“My superpower is my hair and the family history it carries. Each texture and style holds culture, care, and survival passed down without words,” she said, reflecting on her art, which features three Black girls’ curls, coils, and braids spelling out Google. “Lying in the grass, our crowns rest without weakening. This kinky hair refuses conformity; it makes us different. Shaped by our lineage, our hair is undeniably beautiful.”

In an interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting, Johnson says the three women lying in a bed of golden shimmers represent her mother, her sister, and herself. She discovered her love for art in 2016 when she began sketching. The teen later expanded her artistry into painting during the pandemic, teaching herself with the help of YouTube videos. The child of two pastors, Johnson says her creative process is simple: “I just turned on my gospel music, and I do my thing,” she reportedly told her mother, Simone Johnson. 

“We’re always extremely impressed, floored, amazed,” Simone told the outlet. “Kameirah’s gift is making room for her in the art spaces, and her work will be viewed and seen by the masses. And so it’s amazing. We’re just overjoyed and thrilled and in awe.” 

Already accepted to New York University, Johnson plans to study art and economics. And while winning the “Doodle for Google” $ 55,000 scholarship would help her achieve those goals, the teen artist describes her ambitions as “endless,” expressing hopes of owning her own art gallery, mentoring young artists of color, and one day becoming an artist in residence at museums. 

“There’s so much that I want to do with my art to impact people. There’s so much philanthropy that I want to do, along with just leaving my mark on the world and leaving my statement,” Kameirah shared. 

Voting for the “Doodle for Google” finalist ends on April 29, so go cast your vote HERE.