"I knew the money would go to my school, and I was very blessed to go to a school that has a lot of money and resources 一 but also, not a lot of Black kids and not as many students of color," said Johnson. "I was thinking about my piece and why I did it all, and I just [realized]: 'I should give this to a school full of kids who look like me 一 a school full of Black kids.' And immediately, I thought of Rainier Beach."

According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) for the 2024–25 school year, about 41% of Rainier Beach High School students identified as Black, while about 8% were listed as two or more races. In 2011, the school was nearly closed, as just 366 students attended classes in a building with a capacity of nearly four times that.

The school has come a long way since then. More than 900 students were enrolled at Rainier Beach High School in the 2025–26 school year, and the school had a four-year graduation rate of 83.8% in 2024–25, according to data from the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. On Aug. 28, the school held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the completion of its performing arts center.

After a quick Google search showed that Rainier Beach High School had the highest percentage of Black students among high schools in Seattle Public Schools, Johnson acted.

"I just came out and said I was going to do it. I also made it really public so that if my school went back on it, that would be a bad look on them," Johnson said.