Every day, more than 100,000 students skip school in the United States because they fear bullying by their classmates.
This is National Bullying Prevention Month and a motivational speaker who calls himself “Mr. Mojo” is touring the country to try to change that.
"Mr. Mojo,” who is also known as Travis Brown, brought his anti-bullying pitch Wednesday to a private school in Chatsworth, Sierra Canyon School.
Brown spoke to students in grades seven through 12 at the behest of senior Corinne Foxx, who had surveyed her schoolmates and found more than a quarter of them believed bullying was a problem at the school.
Brown said he plans to hit more than 200 schools during his 75 day tour. He said he is trying to empower students to believe in themselves and take a stand.
“They can truly make a difference in this new social epidemic of bullying,” he said.
Brown said he used “mojo” as a way to connect to kids.
But what exactly is “mojo”?
Brown explained it is the “highest level of positive attitude, positive energy and positive results.”
“When you pull all of that together and then the kids, I tell them you have mojo swag,” Brown said.
Corinne Foxx, whose father is the actor Jamie Foxx, said she wanted the anti-bullying tour to come to her school and speak to her classmates because “they listen better to someone else’s voice.”
“I wanted to create an environment that was safe at our school,” she said, admitting she, too, had been the victim of bullying.
Her father said fame and fortune don’t stop bullying.
“Kids will go through the same things" whether or not the family is well-off or well known, he said.
He said he was proud of his daughter for trying to help.
"I’m sure that what she’s doing here this week is helping somebody, somewhere quietly," he said.
Follow NBCLA for the latest LA news, events and entertainment: Twitter: @NBCLA // Facebook: NBCLA
