The crowd when I walked into Weber Chapel was chattering away as everyone filtered in. We were there to see Ken E. Nwadike, Jr., a peace activist better known as “the Free Hugs Guy.” You may have seen videos of Ken at the Boston Marathon, giving the runners hugs as they ran past, or perhaps you’ve seen him at protests standing between protesters and police, telling everyone to step back and encouraging dialogue between the two groups. He was even at the horrendous and deadly march at Charlottesville this summer, still promoting his same message of peace and empathy.
The lights dimmed in the chapel, and Ken stepped out on stage. He did his introductions and then started from the beginning. “I never thought I’d be this guy,” he said. Ken grew up distrusting law enforcement after his father’s arrest, before he and his family moved to Los Angeles. He and his family were moved in and out of homeless shelters throughout his childhood, and he didn’t make many friends in school. But during high school, he joined the track team, something he says changed his life.
There was an audible gasp when Ken revealed his first ever mile time: 4 minutes, 17 seconds. He kept running, getting faster as he went. He ran his way into college, getting a track scholarship. He began training for the Olympics, and got a partnership with Nike. All because his high school coach took a chance on him. Ken went on to start the Hollywood Half Marathon, going on its 7th year next April, and eventually trained to run the Boston Marathon the year after the bombing. The qualifying time was 3 hours and 5 minutes. Ken’s final time? 3 hours, 5 minutes, and 23 seconds. He didn’t qualify, even after the next to impossible move of running another marathon just six days later to try again to qualify.
Instead, Ken became the Free Hugs guy. The crowd couldn’t stop laughing during the video of Ken giving out hugs at the Boston Marathon. Ken started going to other runs, getting more and more publicity on the news. Eventually, he went from runs to riots. The air was sucked out of the room as he played videos and told stories of the protests he had been at, some including gunshots. No matter where he goes, Ken takes his “Free Hugs” shirt and spreads a message of love, peace, and dialogue.
After his talk, Ken opened a Q&A that went on for a solid hour and a half, fielding questions about free speech, self care, and how to protest without violence. He was never once phased, and always had a deeply thought out and educational answer. He taught us about how creative protests in Boston and San Francisco, where no one was injured and there wasn’t any violence at all. Afterward gave out his famous free hugs.
I feel deeply honored to have been able to interact with Ken that night. It was an incredibly inspirational evening with an inspirational man.