KPIX News Channel 5 Covers Hip-Hop Chess Federation

    Kenny Choi did a fantastic look at HHCF for Channel 5!! Check out the link here on:  KPIX NEWS . It does a great job of showing that the kids at John O'Connell's Chess and Life Strategies class is thriving. Looking forward to next semester. If you would like our class at your school visit www.hiphopchess.com .

Illusory Protection: Education & The Prison Industrial Complex

                                         Kids enjoy a few games at HHCF San Jose Summer Camp

Illusory Protection: Education & The Prison Industrial Complex

by Adisa Banjoko and Arash Daneshzadeh | special to NewBlackMan (in Exile)

“He confused science fiction with science facts, He couldn't separate the block, from recorded tracks” – GZA, Illusory Protection

In 2006, I created the Hip-Hop Chess Federation to teach kids chess and correlating life skills. A few years ago, a young Black female student tried to sneak past me in the lobby at John O’Connell High School where I worked as a security guard. She was late. Being the ever inquisitive security guard, I slipped into stealth mode. It was a hot morning. As she tried to skip through the lobby entrance I playfully popped outta the shadows and said “What time is it?!”

The girl grabbed her phone from her front pocket and glanced at her phone—it was off. “ I dunno what time it is!” Half startled and irritated from my AM kung-fu moves.

For a soundless second her eyes blinked between my face and the face on the clock. Her shoulders sagged—her chin dropped like a scolded toddler. “I can’t tell time” she confessed. “Please don’t tell anybody, it’s  embarrassing. Nobody knows.”

READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE