Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (in Shanghai)

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I am so excited to share this post!

“If you don’t understand, ask questions. If you’re uncomfortable about asking questions, say you are uncomfortable about asking questions and then ask anyway. It’s easy to tell when a question is coming from a good place. Then listen some more. Sometimes people just want to feel heard. Here’s to possibilities of friendship and connection and understanding.”
― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah

Saturday, August 17, 2019 was a beautiful day in Shanghai, China. The AQI was healthy. The sun was out and Chimamanda was speaking at The Shanghai Library. The Shanghai Library had their annual ‘Shanghai National Literary Week’ and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (CNA) was one of their guest lecturers! She also did a book signing and took pictures with guests after.

CNA – is a Nigerian woman, feminist, author, novelist, short story writer, and speaker. She is well known for writing:

Americanah / We Should All Be Feminists / Half A Yellow Sun / and Purple Hibiscus – among a few other works.

When we, and when I say “we” – I mean “We” the Black folks of Shanghai & China heard she was coming we planned quickly to show up for her. We waited patiently for tickets to go on sale and register for the event, only to find out, eeeeek! Get this – it was free and you just had to sign up and register. Shanghai wasn’t ready! She was originally scheduled to speak in a lecture room that could fit 150 people, but there was such a great response that she was moved to a room for 750 people – BOOKED! We were so excited!

We traveled for this! Yes, I know I am in Shanghai, but folks traveled from Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and different parts of the Shanghai area for this speech and to support CNA.

I am so thankful that Shanghai continues to give me beautiful #melanatedmoments as I like to call them. I will be honest, I have not finished one of her books, but they are on my reading list and already in my #ibooks! My bucket list has on it, ‘Attend a book signing for an author you know nothing about’ – I can say this is the second time that I have done this and was pleasantly – no – beyond pleasantly pleased. Even though I have heard her name before, and have seen videos of her speaking shared in online social groups I didn’t know much about her myself. As the day was coming closer and closer I decided not to do any research, attend the event, and take it all in. Now, I am excited to jump into her books that I own and take in all that she has written.

We filled the front row of the lecture hall and when she walked in her face beamed with love for the black folks that came out to support her. She even started her speech thanking all of the beautiful black women in the front row for coming out! We yelled and clapped and great excitement.

You can find her on http://www.youtube.com – with college commencement speeches, Ted Talks, and interviews. Check her out when you get the opportunity. It was truly a great event. We smiled, laughed, listened, took notes, and felt so much pride as we filled the front row for her lecture. I have also shared some links below.

I want to share the experience of a friend who attended.Check out her words below ….

Ayesha:

Words escaped me. I stood there wondering how to explain the impact her words had on my life, on all our lives, and how significant it was that she came to China, whilst my friend Iyabo called me out and explained to her that I’ve helped black women find a community and a home in China, and Chimamanda Adichie started hugging me instinctively, murmuring her agreement and supporting me… I. Died. A. Thousand. Deaths. Before. I realized that my tongue still sat in my mouth, was still connected to my brain and could still articulate itself, could still tell her that we had journeyed from all over China just to see her, from cities she would not see, from experiences we did not have time to share, where she could not venture to this time. I died and was reborn, a new woman existing in the era of After Adichie…. nothing can be the same. My hero held me and reflected my own joy, my own fear, she saw through everything they wanted her to see and she saw us! That shout out gave us all life!

If my tongue had found its freedom earlier I would have told her that I have been writing secretly for years, that reading her work inspired me to write my own, that each and every black person she saw in China lived books of experiences that were best-sellers yet to be written, that her writing about living as the daughter of a University Professor in Nigeria in Purple Hibiscus resonated so much with my experience living as the daughter of a University Professor in Trinidad and Tobago, that seeing her articulate her experiences showed me that my stories were worthy of being seen and heard.

She was everything you see on tv and online and so much more! She was unapologetically herself, down to earth, humble, intelligent, gracious, witty, whole and wholesome! Iyabo and I had not eaten before the event yet we both commented on how full we felt right up until we had lunch long afterwards. What a day! I will tell my future children of how I met this future Nobel Prize Winner and she hugged the life into me! #chimamandangoziadichie

Thank You Ayesha for sharing your experience. Thank you for getting us all together for this event. Thanks for being wonderful.

It was truly a pleasure getting to know you in Shanghai.

So many thanks to Chimamanda N. Adichie for coming to Shanghai, for being so wonderful, and giving us such a beautiful message. You are a jewel!

If you want to check her out a little more for yourself here is her website:

https://www.chimamanda.com/

and you can check her out here too!

#chimamandangoziadichie #chimamanda #ngozi #adichie #Nigeria #Nigerian #naturalhair #shanghai #humble #intelligent #funny #beyondbright #blackbeauty #blackgirlmagic #shanghailibrary #writer #speaker #novelist #author #beautydefined #fullofgrace #worldchanger #weshouldallbefeminists #halfayellowsun #purplehibiscus #americanah

….with all the greatness we experienced we took a ton of pictures, got our books signed, talked for a bit with CNA, and later she shared our pictures on her official Instagram and Facebook pages. That is super cool! What an unforgettable experience.

When A Black Woman Speaks – The World Listens

Elle and Karla – #blackgirlshanghaimagic

And we are super proud of sweet Judah – when Q&A started she was the first one CNA called on to ask a question! She did a great job with it too in front of everyone.

#BlackFolkJoy @ShanghaiLibrary 8.17.19-Saturday

#FearlessinShanghai #Thankful #joychangeslives #KMarieTakesChina #BlackGirlMagic #KarlaGirlLivingLife #BlackGirlJoy #LivingMyLifeLikeItsGolden #ChinaorBust #ChinaAintReady #BlackInShanghai #BlackInChina #BlackAmericanInChina #LookOutWorldHereComesKarla #KarlaGirlJoy #BlackGirlInShanghai #eatsleeppartyrepeat #givingisgood #givingisfun #WakandaForever #ShuriAndNakiaAndOkoye #MelaninMagic #Blessed #FaithfulIsMyGod

“life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all” – Hellen Keller

*I choose ADVENTURE

“Racism should never have happened and so you don’t get a cookie for reducing it.”
― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (in Shanghai)