Advocacy and Resilience Encompass BBMM Conference
They shared stories of long bus rides, pain and perseverance.
Chaffey College’s keynote speakers for the 3rd annual Black and Brown Minds & Mattering Conference also shared insights - including the value of remembering your roots.
“The most important thing for students is for you to come back to the communities that you’re from. I’m proud to say that I’m an educator and that I’m from Compton,” said Compton College President/CEO Dr. Keith Curry.
The Oct. 30 conference brought together hundreds of students, higher education professionals and community members for a day of learning how to better serve Black and Brown students.
Curry’s childhood involved waking up at 5 a.m. and taking two buses to get to Venice High School by 8 a.m. The conference’s afternoon keynote speaker, Latinx Artist and Storyteller Anna Alvarado, took three buses from East Los Angeles to her first job as a receptionist at a Wilshire Center law firm.
Determination to build a better future for themselves and others kept both Curry and Alvarado moving forward.
Alvarado started drawing as a little girl to cope with her mother’s drug addiction,
and living in the foster system. She spent her career in the corporate world, but
eventually worked up the courage to walk away to focus full time on her art.
“Your story is your strength and when you share it, you are building a bridge to someone else,” she said.
The conference included a series of workshops covering mentorship, the influence of music on learning, mental health and more. High school students attended classes on navigating college, applying for scholarships and financial literacy.
Gaiyanne Morgan, an Upland High School and Chaffey dual enrollment student, attended for the second year in a row with her classmates.
She enjoyed learning about financial literacy in the 2023 conference, and looked forward to learning more topics relevant to her culture at the 2024 event.
“It’s important to lift up Black and Brown communities because they are the future,” Morgan said.
Acknowledging the identity, the struggles and contributions of Black and Brown communities helps to empower both populations, said Assistant Professor of History Luis Fernandez. For the high school students who attend, this can be especially powerful.
“This shows students that they can come to college,” Fernandez said. “They see themselves in the reflection of our faculty and our classified staff.”
