Rising Stars: Meet Anna Johnson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Johnson.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born in Durham but grew up in Apex. Before I was born, my uncle was shot and killed trying to stop an armed shooter in San Fransico. I share his middle name, Greenleaf. Because of this, I grew up very passionate about fighting gun violence. I am a product of Wake County Public School Systems. I am a result of the Lockdown Drill Generation. I went to UNC Charlotte to study special education. In 2019, there was a mass shooting on my college campus. I had taken a course in the room it occurred a semester prior. I had interacted with the gunman weeks before. After this, I joined the UNCC chapter of MFOL my senior year. I would then join Change The Ref as a social media team member. I have been doing work with Change The Ref for almost three years.

I am a 23-year-old teacher in Raleigh. I am in my second year of being a special educator. I am now teaching the next generation of Lockdown Drill students. This summer, I started working with Newtown Action Alliance. I officially got hired in September. During the summer, we lobbied in DC for Ethan’s Law, a child access prevention law, and the Assault Weapons Ban. I was at the White House with NAA for the celebration of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. This December, I will be back in DC for the National Gun Violence Vigil.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As a student in the United States, it was not a smooth road. In 5th grade, I awoke, shaking from a nightmare that a school shooter was in my classroom. My dad laid on my carpet with me while I cried myself back to sleep. I dreamt of my classmates fighting off the shooter as others jumped out of classroom windows. At ten years old, I visualized students being locked out of the classroom and hiding in the bathroom stalls, holding their breath, not making a sound.

When I went to college at UNC Charlotte, we experienced a mass shooting. I graduated in 2021 with my special education degree. I am a second-year teacher in Raleigh. After the school shooting in Uvalde, my fourth grader said, “I hope it doesn’t happen here. If it happened, I would call my grandma to pick me up and I would not come back.” As a North Carolina special education teacher, my students live and learn 20 minutes from the Hedingham neighborhood where the mass shooting took place. At such a young age, my students already have the trauma of gun violence in their veins. Students deserve to grow up in a world without gun violence and that is why I fight.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a special education teacher in Raleigh. I work with students experiencing academic, emotional and behavioral difficulties. I am most proud of the work I do with my students. I am proud that as a teacher, I have made time to work with gun violence prevention organizations like Change The Ref and Newtown Action Alliance.

What matters most to you?
My students matter the most to me. They are why I wake up every day to come to school and they are why I stay up late every night working to fight gun violence.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.newtownactionalliance.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annagreenj/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnnaGreenJ
• Other: https://changetheref.org/