Nikkolas Smith was born in Houston and lives in Los Angeles, but a part of the internationally acclaimed artivist belongs to Hampton.
“We are so proud of him!” gushed Matthew White, who first met Smith in Pierce Hall, the dormitory next to his when both were freshmen at Hampton University. White joined a line of admirers and alumni last week at Fort Monroe, where Smith signed copies of his award-winning, hand-painted picture book, “The History of We.”
Budding artist Selah Godwin, 11, was near the front of the line with her two siblings and parents.
“Hi Selah. You are a gift to humanity,” Smith wrote in marker in her book. He drew traditional African scarring next to his loopy signature. After autographing three Funko Pop vinyl figures — reimagined Marvel Black superheroes he designed — he asked to snap a selfie with everyone.
Smith’s art spans Hollywood, Disney, literature and beyond, often bringing eyes to marginalized voices. His expressive brushstrokes and bold color patterns are as vibrant as they are thought-provoking. It’s been a multifaceted career for the 41-year-old whose rise began after he graduated from Hampton, which he calls “my first home away from home.”
His roots in artivism, which blends “art” and “activist,” go back to growing up and absorbing what his mother hung on the walls.
Norman Rockwell’s print of “The Problem We All Live With” struck a chord with him. It depicts Ruby Bridges, a 6-year-old African American girl, walking to her newly integrated Louisiana school in 1960. She was flanked by federal marshals who were needed to protect her.
Smith grew up attending predominantly white schools. In 2003, when it came time to choose colleges, he considered Morehouse College in Atlanta. He selected Hampton after hearing stories from his brother, who had graduated from Hampton. Smith had also heard about its respected five-year Master of Architecture program.
“This was my first time at a Black school with Black professors, being part of a Black marching band,” said Smith, who played saxophone.
Smith liked to draw, so it only seemed natural to walk into the student newspaper, The Script, and ask about becoming its cartoonist. His satire and commentary became a staple during a time when Barack Obama ran for president.
“I started to make art of everything that was happening in the world,” he said. “This was also a time when there was questionable fraternity behavior on campus, and I made art about that and how Martin Luther King and Langston Hughes would respond to how we were doing things.”
The architecture program’s pipeline with Walt Disney Imagineering took him to California, where he spent 11 years at the theme park. He designed the Legacy Tower, which honors five pioneering African American architects. At its base, he subtly included a half-open doorway to represent the perseverance it took for them to overcome systemic racism.
Smith regards that period at Disney as “a tale of two worlds.” Disney is magical, but “as a Black man in America, I was seeing a lot of injustice and police brutality. I couldn’t help but make artistic commentary on the nights and weekends at home.
“Once I started doing that sort of thing for myself, I wanted to create imagery like that that you can’t look away from.”
His first book, “Sunday Sketch! The Art of Nikkolas,” originated from those years and was published in 2018. He overcame his addiction to perfection by giving himself anywhere from five minutes to five hours to create a digital painting on Sundays. A sketch of King, wearing a hooded sweatshirt, went viral after the 2012 murder of Trayvon Martin, and is the cover art.
“He would always let his art express what we’re feeling,” White said. “If you put a hoodie on a young Martin Luther King, maybe he doesn’t grow up.”
Smith was overwhelmed by the feedback to that drawing, particularly touched when a middle-aged white woman emailed him to share her feelings.
“She said it really helped change her mindset going forward,” he said. “I love it when art can actually help make real change in people’s day-to-day lives and hopefully help us all move forward.”
Smith has painted Jay-Z and Simone Biles as well as Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, both victims of police violence.
Converse asked him to create art to amplify Black voices in 2021, which led to a Los Angeles billboard campaign on the value of Black lives.
Michelle Obama, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Rihanna and Michael B. Jordan are among those who have shared his art on social media.
Smith’s credits for concept art in film include “Space Jam II,” “Black Panther” and “Sinners.” He is the illustrator of the New York Times bestseller “The 1619 Project: Born on the Water,” which includes an illustration of Point Comfort, the landing site of the first enslaved Africans in English North America.
Last week, Smith held his book event near that historic spot, signing everything he was asked, despite running late for his reading of “The History of We” in the theater of the Fort Monroe Visitors and Education Center.
The theater was nearly full as he read from the pages projected on the screen. “The History of We,” the 2026 winner of the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award in the Picture Book Category, traces the origins of humankind to Africa and celebrates the earliest Africans for being healers, drummers, inventors, dancers and architects.
“At the mercy of harsh winds and rain, we needed shelter. Over time, our house became home, a place of safety. We were architects,” Smith read.
He ended with an impromptu Q&A. He paused for several moments when asked, “What does it mean to you to be African?”
The soft-spoken Smith found his words. “It’s like a birthright. It’s almost royalty. It’s a responsibility to continue that legacy, to continue doing amazing things.”
