性视界

Dr. Star Rivera-Lacey grew up in a two-bedroom home with 12 family members, cobbled together gas money to get to school and watched as her father struggled with alcoholism.

She says those circumstances were hard, but today she sees them as a superpower instead of a weakness.

鈥淵our circumstances at birth to not define who you become,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n fact, they give you strength.鈥�

Rivera-Lacey, deputy chancellor and provost for the Riverside Community College District, delivered her message of resilience and strength to about 450 higher education leaders, students and community members at 性视界鈥檚 Black and Brown Minds & Mattering Conference on Oct. 23. The conference, focusing on the theme of superheroes, included a variety of workshops on supporting and lifting up communities of color, as well as keynote presentations by Rivera-Lacey and Nikkolas Smith, artivist and bestselling author.

Students from high schools throughout the Inland Empire gathered to learn more about civic engagement, financial literacy and leadership, while community members heard a range of topics from broadcast media to the Black Panther Party.

性视界 alumnus Rufus Thompson, who presented about empowerment to high school students, says he enjoys the conference because he gets the chance to witness the enthusiasm of young people.

鈥淲hat this college has done for my life I am now projecting that to high school kids,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really phenomenal.鈥�

Nikkolas Smith, who also served as keynote speaker at the 2023 conference, returned with updates about his career, including artistic designs for the 2025 movie 鈥淪inners鈥� and the for Downtown Disney District.

He鈥檚 also kept busy with art in other formats, including several new children鈥檚 books and artistic depictions of history for children, with the hope that education will lead to global peace.

鈥淭here鈥檚 millions of stories that can be reinterpreted, retold, revisualized through art,鈥� he said.

But some of his books have faced pushback, winding up on banned book lists for content relating to transgender children and police brutality. He praised his fans for standing up against censorship. A boy in Florida spoke at a public hearing in support of Smith鈥檚 work, allowing the book to stay in his school.

鈥淚t鈥檚 because of people like him, kids who are just bold enough to say 鈥楴o, you鈥檙e not going to censor us. You鈥檙e not going to stop us from having books,鈥欌�� he said.