In the year since the death of Michael Brown and the civil unrest that followed, the city of Ferguson, Missouri, has worked hard to repair its community fabric and rebuild a sense of safety and trust among its government, businesses, schools and other institutions. As we have seen in cities across the country, from Baltimore to New York to Cleveland, Ferguson and many of its 20,000 residents are not alone in their struggle with urban inequality and the feelings of hopelessness and despair that often go along with it. In these times, many of us are asking how we can support our communities and where we can find sources of positive change…
In the year since the death of Michael Brown and the civil unrest that followed, the city of Ferguson, Missouri, has worked hard to repair its community fabric and rebuild a sense of safety and trust among its government, businesses, schools and other institutions.
As we have seen in cities across the country, from Baltimore to New York to Cleveland, Ferguson and many of its 20,000 residents are not alone in their struggle with urban inequality and the feelings of hopelessness and despair that often go along with it. In these times, many of us are asking how we can support our communities and where we can find sources of positive change.
Let me offer an unusual but effective way to bring hope and opportunity to our underserved communities: Chess.
Early in my life, the game of chess was a source of empowerment and self-worth, and I have seen it change the lives of young people in all corners of the globe.
When I was 12 years old, I moved from Jamaica to Brooklyn, New York. It was difficult trying to make the transition to a new country, especially into a neighborhood that regularly saw its share of drug dealers, prostitution and violence. It was at a critical moment in my teenage years, when I was just 14, that I learned to play chess, and it became the largest influence in my life, allowing me to avoid many of the allures of the street that ensnared a number of my friends.
The game became my lighthouse – the one activity that I wanted to focus on more than anything else. While a few of my friends ended up on the wrong side of the tracks, chess kept me on the straight and narrow and opened up a world of opportunity that I’m still benefitting from.
Chess is a truly special and magical game, particularly for young people. Think about it: It provides them the opportunity to develop cognitive thinking skills, patience and self-confidence, which can translate into academics and other areas of life. It’s a decision-making game — you have to think about your options. If you make a bad decision, there are consequences; if you make a good decision, you’ll be rewarded. Most kids do not get to make a lot of decisions growing up. In chess, they get to decide what moves to make and which strategies to employ. That might not seem like a big deal, but for a disadvantaged child the ability to make good decisions is a game-changer.
In 1999, I became a Grandmaster, the first Black person in history to achieve the game’s highest title. I have made it a priority to raise awareness about the benefits of chess, encouraging young people, particularly in underserved communities, to learn the game and to learn their own value. Recently, when I became aware of an organization aiming to implement the game in a neighborhood struggling to regain its identity and to promote the better welfare of its children, I was eager to help. I am proud to be able to partner with Ascension, the nation’s largest non-profit health system, to support an initiative that will bring chess clubs to schools in the St. Louis region.
Ascension has partnered with The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis to provide every elementary school and middle school in the Ferguson-Florissant School District – 20 in total – with a 10-week chess club for its students after school. Each school will be able to enroll 16 students with parental permission in one-hour after-school sessions led by a certified instructor. The schools are not responsible for any fees, nor are the students – a primary obstacle so many children face when it comes to participating in extracurricular activities.
Bringing the learning opportunities and fun of chess to young people may seem like a small step to take in the face of daunting challenges encountered by so many young people in underserved communities, but it’s a step in the right direction, and a step I’m really proud to be a part of. Chess is means to give children the tools to sharpen their minds, to look into and plan for the future, and to see themselves as thinkers in control of their own destiny.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase. I’m hopeful that this program will inspire other unique public and private partnerships to bring after-school activities like chess to communities in need of greater opportunity. Maybe it will even produce the next African-American Chess Grandmaster.
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