Live
the Game:
National Experts Convene in St. Louis
to
Highlight the Powerful Fusion of Chess, Hip Hop, and Martial Arts
March 4, 2013 (St.
Louis, MO) -- Look closely and you’ll see it at the beginning of
the new Justin Timberlake video featuring Jay-Z. Read the lyrics of
“General Principles” by GZA. Check out the album cover for Pawns
in the Game, the 1990 album
by Public Enemy emcee Professor Griff. It also shows up with RZA in
scenes featuring hip hop characters on the hit TV show
Californication.
It’s chess. And
at first glance, it doesn’t appear to have a link to hip hop.
Throw martial arts into the mix and you really have to have your
finger on the pulse of popular culture to know about the connection.
A group of
national experts who really do know do “have their finger on the
pulse” – and know the impact that this combination can have on
young people – will meet in St. Louis on May 8 to present to
students of the Innovative Concept Academy. A second session with
local leaders will be held at the Schlafly Branch of the St. Louis
Public Library.
“These
presentations will illustrate how chess and martial arts have been
woven into the history of hip hop. Further, it will show how the
blending of art, logic, and physical fitness guide young people to
self-discovery, self-mastery, and nonviolence,” said Adisa
Banjoko,
journalist and founder of
the Hip Hop Chess
Federation.
Banjoko, who has
been tapped to present at institutions like Harvard University and
Brown University, assembled the group and will moderate discussions.
Panelists include Dr. James
Peterson (founder of Hip
Hop Scholars, LLC, and
director of Africana studies at Lehigh University),
Mike Relm Youtube
video remix icon and co-founder of Bishop Chronicles podcast show,
Asheru
(Peabody Award-winning journalist, creator of The Boondocks theme
song, educator, and youth activist), and Alan
"Gumby" Marques
(Black belt in jiu-jitu and founder of Heroes Martial Arts).
The presentations
are sponsored and coordinated by The World Chess Hall of Fame.
“Our focus at
the World Chess Hall of Fame is to show how the game of chess has an
impact on society. The work of Adisa and the other panelists has
been life-changing for many people. The examples they will share
will show how this change can happen in St. Louis as well,” said
Susan Barrett,
executive director of the World Chess Hall of Fame.
Details
Date: May 8, 2013
Presentation 1:
10 am, Innovative Concept Academy
Presentation 2:
4:00 pm, Schlafly Branch of the St. Louis Public Library
About
Adisa Banjoko
Adisa
Banjoko is a respected journalist, lecturer and the founder of the
Hip Hop Chess Federation. His organization has appeared in the New
York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, and Vibe
magazine. He’s also been a guest on NPR and Good Morning America.
About
Dr. James Peterson
Dr. James
Braxton Peterson (Duke ’93, UPENN 2003) is the Director of Africana
Studies and Associate Professor of English at Lehigh University. He
has been a visiting lecturer and preceptor in African American
Studies at Princeton University and the Media Coordinator for the
Harvard University Hip Hop Archive. He is also the founder of Hip Hop
Scholars, LLC, an association of Hip Hop generational scholars
dedicated to researching and developing the cultural and educational
potential of Hip Hop, urban, and youth cultures.
About
Mike Relm
About
Asheru
Asheru,
born Gabriel
Benn, is a
hip hop artist,
educator, and
youth activist. He is widely known for performing the opening and
closing themes for the popular TV series, The
Boondocks,
as well as his pioneering and innovative efforts to forward the Hip
Hop Education movement.
About
Alan “Gumby” Marques
Gumby
is a first degree black belt in Jiu Jutsu and is best know as the
co-founder of OTM, one of the world’s leading sources for Brazilian
Jiu Jitsu. He is an author, commentator, coach, referee, and
instructor.
About
the World Chess Hall of Fame
The World Chess
Hall of Fame (WCHOF) is a nonprofit organization committed to
building awareness for the cultural and artistic significance of
chess. It opened on September
9, 2011, in St. Louis’s
Central West End after moving from previous locations in New York and
Miami.
The WCHOF is
housed in an historic 15,900 square-foot building that includes three
floors of galleries, the U.S. and
World Chess Halls of Fame, and
the stylish Q Boutique. It provides visitors with a unique
opportunity to use chess as a platform for learning, exploring, and
seeing their world in entirely new ways.
It is the only
cultural institution of its kind in the world and the only solely
chess-focused collecting institution in the U.S.
