BMUFSD: Students Attend Assembly On Why Kindness Matters

Press release from the Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District:

2024-05-15

Free hugs, anyone?

Students in grades six through 11 at Briarcliff Middle and High School attended an assembly last week called “Why Kindness Matters.”

The assembly was presented by Ken Nwadike Jr., a motivational speaker and peace activist, also known as the “Free Hugs Guy.”

Mr. Nwadike, who attempts to connect with people in areas of conflict, shared with the students his life story and what motivated him to become a peace activist.

Growing up, he lived with his family in a homeless shelter in Los Angeles during the time of the Rodney King riots. When he asked his mother why his family was not looting like others, she replied that she wanted her children to be peace keepers, like another man named King, referring to Martin Luther King Jr.

During high school, Mr. Nwadike joined the track team, where, for the first time in his life, he felt a sense of belonging, he said. He ended up setting a school record and eventually receiving a track and field scholarship for college.

He also became a mentor to kids at a homeless shelter and decided to create a new race in Los Angeles – a half marathon, to raise money and awareness for homeless youth.

Against all odds, he raised funds for the race and even got support from celebrities like basketball player Ron Artest, actor Sean Astin and actor Andrea Barber (from “Full House”).

The news channels picked up the story and the race ended up becoming a huge success, with over 10,000 registrants.

While planning the race, he began working on the logistics with law enforcement.

“This has changed my perception of law enforcement and the bias I had for police officers,” he said.

Some of the homeless children that he worked with had volunteered to help at the race and were inspired by it and after the race was over, Mr. Nwadike began planning for the next one.

But then the Boston Marathon bombing took place and things changed.

“It was tougher to organize a race because of the new security issues,” he said. “An act of hate changed the way we do things.”

The following year, he decided to run the Boston Marathon to show his support. However, after training extensively and missing the cutoff to qualify by eleven seconds, he pivoted and decided to attend the race by standing on the sidelines wearing a “Free Hugs” t-shirt. He had the experience filmed on video.

During the race, many runners stopped to give him hugs.

“I probably hugged thousands of people that day,” he said. “And I left with my heart feeling so full – I did not grow up in a very affectionate household. I realized that maybe that was why I didn’t qualify for the marathon – so that I could have the experience of hugging thousands of people.”

The video went viral with millions of views and Mr. Nwadike began thinking about how he could spread kindness to areas of conflict.

“I made myself an ambassador of peace,” he said. “I wanted to use opportunities to build up community.”

Being that ambassador of peace like Mr. Nwadike wanted to be, he became friends with a police officer who hugged him while at an area of conflict. The friendship is still going strong today and they have worked together on trying to bridge communities.

“We serve meals to homeless youth and we also organized basketball games between kids and police officers,” he said. “This allows the kids to see the police officers as human beings. We can create connections and friendships when we strip the layers. We can learn about new cultures.”

He encouraged the students to participate in various extra-curricular activities.

“These activities will allow you to learn to interact and engage in diverse settings,” he said.

At the end of the presentation, Mr. Nwadike had a Q&A session. One of the questions was how to incorporate his message into the Briarcliff School community.

Mr. Nwadike shared a story of a school in Texas that was politically divided, where students experienced fights on an ongoing basis. After he held an assembly there, the school rolled out “Free Hugs Fridays,” complete with “Free Hugs” t-shirts in school colors, encouraging students to introduce themselves to students they do not know. The result was a decrease in fighting and the forming of new, unlikely friendships.

The assembly ended with students standing in a line to thank Mr. Nwadike and to give him “free” hugs.

Remi, a sixth grader, was inspired by the presentation.

“I thought it was very motivating and inspirational because he came from nothing and he started showing kindness to everyone else, and it made a difference in the world,” he said. “Some people thought it wouldn’t matter, but it did.”

The presentation also resonated with Mark, a tenth grader.

“It was a great assembly,” he said. “I came in not expecting much, but he got my attention the entire time. I liked his message about the importance of speaking out for what you believe in and that you can accomplish a lot if you put in the effort.”

“Mr. Nwadike brought positive messages that we think align wit the mission of the Briarcliff School community: embracing others, resiliency and putting yourself out there,” said Student Assistance Counselors for BHS and BMS respectively, Meredith Ohmes and Alexa White. “We want the students to take these messages and work them into their daily lives by being kind people and by being the change they want to see.”

This press release was produced by the Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.