Students sat in silence this past Monday, listening to the words of award-winning author Chris Abani, the guest speaker at a special All-School Meeting in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Mr. Abani gave a heartfelt account of his experience growing up in Nigeria. As a political prisoner, he endured torture and was threatened to death. In his speech, he not only addressed racial prejudice and the life of Martin Luther King Jr. but also the social injustices that exist today for women, disabled people, and people of different sexual orientation. He further said that humans are beautiful because they are flawed and that it is important to remember that Martin Luther King Jr. was a man, not a saint. “With time, people pass into legend… Martin Luther King lived a life of love… but he was a deeply flawed man,” Abani said. According to Mr. Abani, differences are what distinguish people from one another, and they are what we should love about one another. At age 18, Mr. Abani was imprisoned for the first time in Nigeria on accusations of being a threat to national security. He had written his first novel, a thriller entitled “Masters of the Board,” when he was sixteen years old. The novel’s plot was centered on a neo-Nazi takeover of Nigeria. For allegedly assisting in a plot against the government, Abani served six months in jail, where he was beaten three times a day. A fellow prisoner during this time once told Mr. Abani something that he recounted at the meeting: “Truth, my young friend, is a risky business.” In prison, he encountered a 70-year old prisoner who prevented the early execution of a 14-year old boy. “Even in this place, love will blossom,” Mr. Abani said. After being released from prison, Mr. Abani decided to become a political activist and a member of a theater troupe. According to Mr. Abani, during peaceful demonstrations the troupe “would stand in front of soldiers with guns and sing at them or read them poems.” He continued, “Then the bullets came and [we would] scatter.” This harsh reality of non-violent protest was not an obstacle to Mr. Abani, who still believes strongly in the idea that “the most radical, revolutionary act is to love.” In his speech, Abani expressed great admiration for leaders who encouraged peace, such as Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. He also stressed the importance of dialogue and the uselessness of being politically correct. “Political correctness is a way of blanketing an issue so we never get to talk about it… I’m asking you to give up political-correctness, be educated, and change the way you think,” Mr. Abani said to students. Abani continued, “I don’t want you to leave here inspired. Inspiration goes away in a minute… I want you to believe that love is the right option to choose.” After his speech, Chris Abani read a passage from his award-winning novel, “Graceland”, and performed a piece on the saxophone entitled “Blues for John James.” John James was a fellow prisoner of Abani’s in Nigeria, who was tortured to death at the age of fourteen. John James had taught other inmates to read, and his fate inspired Mr. Abani to compose the piece. He received a standing ovation from the students at the conclusion of the meeting. Chris Abani’s work includes the novels “Graceland”, “Masters of the Board” and the novellas “Becoming Abigail” and “Song For Night.” His poetry collections are “Hands Washing Water,” “Dog Woman,” “Daphne’s Lot,” and “Kalakuta Republic.” Currently an associate Professor at the University of California at Riverside, Mr. Abani has received the PEN USA Freedom to Write Award, the Prince Claus Award, a Lannan Literary Fellowship, a California Book Award, a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award & the PEN Hemingway Book Prize. His latest novel, “The Virgin of Flames”, will be released January 30th of this year.
