By Michelle Seitz, Staff Writer
The Student Activities Committee hosted the Free Hugs Project on Wednesday, Sept. 18 as a part of Hazing Prevention Week. The Free Hugs Project is run by Ken “Kenny” Nwadike, a former track star turned peace activist. The goal of the project is to deescalate violence between different races and with law enforcement.
Junior Valerie Smith-Gonzalez said, “I really appreciate the work [Nwadike’s] doing as a middle man, listening to both sides where conversations can happen.”
During the event, Nwadike told the audience about his life story and the back story of the Free Hugs Project. He also spoke about what he has done with the project thus far.
When Nwadike was just seven years old, he witnessed his father get arrested. His mother then relocated him and his brother from Seattle to Los Angeles in the ‘90s. The family then resided in homeless shelters as they struggled as African Americans living in a mostly white neighborhood.
In high school, Nwadike began running track after his favorite teacher confronted him about avoiding eye contact with other students to which he responded, “If you don’t look at people, you can zone out negativity.”
The teacher then encouraged Nwadike to run track. Because Nwadike’s family struggled financially, he practiced wearing leave behinds, or articles of clothing leftover in the locker room. Being on the track team, Nwadike finally felt like he belonged and had friends.
Nwadike earned a college scholarship and later ran with Nike for two years prior to becoming a political activist.
Nwadike also served as a peer mentor for homeless teenagers, visiting the homeless shelters he and his family used to live in. While there, he wanted to raise awareness and money for the homeless community and eventually decided to launch the Hollywood Half Marathon. The event closed off Hollywood Boulevard and originally was met by harsh criticism from law enforcement.
Nwadike then took matters into his own hands and reached out to the media. NBC was the first to pick up his story, it was then aired on other news platforms as well. The event received support from famous
celebrities, most notably Nwadike’s best friend Andrea Barber and the cast of “Full House,” who offered to run the marathon.
The Hollywood Half Marathon featured over 10,000 runners and raised over $1 million. Three days later, however, the Boston Marathon bombings occurred. In response, Nwadike decided to train to qualify for the Boston Marathon, a long stretch for someone running the mile.
Unfortunately, Nwadike missed the qualifying time by 23 seconds; however, he later decided to stand at the finish line wearing a t-shirt that read “FREE HUGS.” His decision earned him international recognition.
Nwadike then decided to attend riots and protests in desolate areas to strike up a conversation with people. This caused an issue at a riot in Charlotte, North Carolina, when a police officer asked him for a free hug, enraging protestors to the point where they attempted to kill Nwadike.
Later, during the inauguration of President Donald Trump, there was another incident involving vandalism in the streets. Nwadike was also in attendance of the protests and protected the life of a limo driver caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The overall message of the Free Hugs Project is to encourage people to become active bystanders and promote love over hate in situations.