We Need More Black and Latina Girls Living Like Queens

                                                 Rochelle from the movie Brooklyn Castle

I’m still on a psychological high from my time in St. Louis. The HHCF squad really came together with the World Chess Hall of Fame and the St. Louis Chess Club to do some really powerful things. Of all the things that are on my mind though, the biggest priority is making sure more girls (but especially Black and Latina girls)  play chess.

My last talk was to a co-ed group of kids at a juvenile detention center. I have a daughter and a son the same age as these kids on lockdown. It troubled me deeply to leave. When I got back, I started thinking about how important it is that more girls learn and stick with the game. I’m not even talking about on a competitive level (but that would be awesome!). I mean just more casual female players of the game.

I wrote a two part series last year about kids I knew who suffered from gang violence in Oakland and San Francisco. You can read PART 1 HERE and PART 2 HERE .

One of the main things those stories taught me is that there are many young women out there who are direct and indirect victims of violence and they have no outlet.

When I first started HHCF I always planned to do huge events for women. Few realize the second event after the HHCF Kings Invitational was a Queens Invitational- but it never happened. The short version is, nobody wanted to sponsor a chess event for girls.

It was not an easy “sell”.

A few years later, we finally did pull it off and it went well, but not as good as it could have been. I hope to do an HHCF Queens event on a larger scale in the fall of 2013.

A girl playing chess at a John O'Connell High chess tournament

The main thing I see today, as an obstacle to teaching at-risk, gang intentional or gang impacted girls chess is simply their immediate situation. What I mean is, their immediate situation is so dire, so crazy, so violent and unforgiving that they don’t seem to be able to make the time to even learn the game. I’m specifically talking about teen girls here.

But for teen girls who are in tough areas, but not in “the system” I think there is MUCH we can do with chess to inspire and guide them to better lives.

The other issue I see with inner city girls is that many feel chess makes them unattractive. When I say this, I don’t mean that playing the game makes them look ugly to boys. Its actually WINNING in chess that makes them unattractive.

I have seen this first hand: Boy likes girl. Boy likes chess. Boy teaches girl chess. Girl likes chess. Girl eventually wins in chess. Boy now likes another girl. First girl quits chess so boys like her.

The social pressure a teen guy feels to win all the time against girls is silly and immature. But I have seen girls quit playing chess and watch their boyfriend play with his friends (who she can also beat) rather than play herself.

We need to teach girls that they were not put here to play second fiddle when it comes to using their mind. We need to teach boys to value intelligent women and not see them as a threat, but as a blessing in our lives.

I have a mantra I repeat to every girl I can as often as I can say it: The world is a cold and unforgiving place for an uneducated woman.

I tell them to look around them and see the women they know who are suffering. Then I ask them to ask the women they trust and are close to one question...”Did you ever go to college?”

                                       Every parent should make their daughter read this book!                                                        

It has been my personal observation, that a woman's level of suffering and education often go hand in hand. This does not mean that educated women do not suffer (many do). But uneducated women are almost sure to suffer deeper and more often than their educated sisters. For me this is not just an American issue, its a global issue. We need to teach our girls about the history they have in the game and their duty to uphold it through action! Through consistent play and sharing of the game with their friends.

I work hard to make sure girls know and love chess. Not for trophies and medals (though its always beautiful when they get them!). But for self confidence, for trusting in the power of their own mind and the life strategies that come from thinking and living like a queen.

If you agree, please share this with a girl or woman you care about. Then play a game of chess, or teach the game of chess to girl important to you.

Much Respect,

Adisa  

PS. Super shoutout to Jen Shahade, Rochelle Ballantyne, Natalia Pogonina, Phiona Mutesi and Alexandra Kosteniuk and all the women out there who play chess and inspire others to follow their lead.

 

Ignore Haters! Stay focused on your goals...

HHCF and World Chess Hall of Fame Take Over St. Louis + Adisa Interviews GM Maurice Ashley

LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW HERE: www.bishopchronicles.com

There are certain times in your life, where you feel it coming together. Right now is one of those moments. Shortly before I started Hip-Hop Chess Federation I interviewed Grandmaster Maurice Ashley for my second book Lyrical Swords Vol. 2: Westside Rebellion. The book also included interviews with RZA, GZA, Afrika Bambaataa and many others.

I met him face to face through Jen Shahade in NY at a HHCF/9Queens event with the RZA. He was very supportive of the momentum we had. I told him then that there was no purpose in me doing what I did if he, Jen, Josh Waitzkin and others did not exist. I explained that HHCF for most serious chess players and fans is misunderstood. That I point people in their direction, knowing that you (meaning Maurice, Jen, Josh, and other GM's, WGM's etc.) do all the true heavy lifting.

Over the years he and I would talk, or email, but we could never seem to catch up.

Thankfully, Jen Shahade introduced me to Susan Barrett from the World Chess Hall of Fame and she invited Hip-Hop Chess Federation out to do several panel discussions on the history of where Hip-Hop, chess and martial arts interlock and how we can use it to inspire children toward self-mastery and self-discovery.

L to R Alan "Gumby" Marques, rapper Asheru, Judge Jimmie Edwards, Susan Barrett of World Chess Hall of Fame, Dr. James Peterson, Mike Relm at Innovative Concept Academy

The events they set up were nothing short of amazing. We went to the famous ICA school ran by Judge Jimmie Edwards. We hosted a panel at the St. Louis Library, the Confluence Academy (also one of the best schools I have ever been to!)  and a juvenile hall detention center. To stand on Marilyn St. in Saint Louis between the World Chess Hall of Fame and the St. Louis Chess Club is like standing between Meeca and Jerusalem. The energy is electric.

Adisa Banjoko addresses Confluence Academy 

Among the other amazing things that happened though, is, Maurice Ashley interviewed me during the championships. It was a shock and I was truly nervous beyond words during the interview. But later the next night, I got to interview him. It was amazing!!! He talked about his early years as a young chess player, his time playing with Jay-Z and an amazing chess hustler set up match he had with jazz legend Wynton Marsalis. This stuff is simply beautiful. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as much as we loved making it. St. Louis is a beautiful city and my experiences there made me a changed man. I understand chess culture better than I ever have.  

I want to thank a few people before I go and understand that the list is simply too long to really get everybody. But here it goes: Jen Shahade (you pulled the trigger on this, thank you so much!) Susan, Laura, Shannon, Amanda (great driving!), St. Louis Police Department (the two nicest cops I ever met after a fender bender was in St. Louie!), everybody at KMOX (Hi, Charlie and Debbie!),Matt Barrett, Mike, and everybody at the St. Louis Chess Club for their kindness to the HHCF squad and my family. You all opened by eyes to a new level of chess culture and duty to serve the community. Thank you for making me a better citizen of the world.

Ashley and Seirawan take on all comers at ICA in St. Louis

To my HHCF squad (The Furious Five): Mike Relm, Dr. James Peterson, Alan "Gumby" Marques, Asheru and Dr. Daaim Shabazz. You guys take the science and art of Hip-Hop, chess, martial arts and education to the next level. I could not imagine having a better experience in St. Louis than I had with you. Thank you for trusting my vision and bringing your best selves to the Live The Game event. A special shout out to Meek Gaborski (the titanium backbone of this organization) David Frazee Esq., Arash Daneshzadeh (HHCF's Education Director), LyRyan Russell, Elaine Moskowitze, Kay Hones, Pablo Fuentes,  T-KASH, Dlabrie, Shamako and Rahman, Josh Waitzkin, Joe Schloss, Dawn-Elissa Fischer, Davey D, RZA, Rakaa Iriscience, Ralek, Ryron and Rener Gracie, Denny Prokopos, Eddie Bravo and a lot of the real Hip-Hop, chess and jiu jitsu folks that really put it down for us back when nobody believed in the fusion of Hip-Hop, chess and martial arts.  

To Judge Jimmie Edwards at ICA, the St. Louis Library, to everybody at Confluence Academy and St. Louis Juvenile Detention Center I want to thank you for your open minds, for giving us a chance to speak to your youth and trusting that our vision could help. Any time you need us, please reach out. You all do amazing work and everybody at HHCF was left inspired beyond measure.

FOOD SHOUTS: Lesters, Bar Italia, Drunken Fish and PAPPYS (thanks for the extra bottle of sauce, but TSA gaffled it).

PHOTO CREDITS: Shots of ICA credit Daaim Shabazz. Photos of Maurice Ashley and Adisa Banjoko credit Mike Relm.

Lost footage from HHCF event feat. RZA, Rakaa, Josh Waitzkin and more...

OK, so I just stumbled on this, and it was a cool thing to find. This was one of the HHCF's early events. A lot of people shot, it but I lost contact with all of them. Anyway, check these two clips out. You will see RZA, Josh Waitzkin and a few others in the shots. Looking forward to the upcoming events made me look around at some of the past ones so I can get super exited.

Hip-Hop Chess got shouted out on Forbes! We have many leather-bound books. Kind of a big deal

And it deals with PHYSICS!

From Atoms To Bits, Physics Shows Entropy As The Root Of Intelligence

We have been taught to think of entropy as a bad thing. “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;/Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,” wrote William Butler Yeats in the aftermath of World War I, in words that still ring true today. Yet Yeats was both a Romantic poet and a Modern one, and he followed up this couplet with a more counterintuitive one, “The best lack all conviction, while the worst /Are full of passionate intensity.”

FULL STORY

This is what you look like to me.

Adisa Banjoko and Mike Relm Present Opera House Massacre

An amazing video on Hip-Hop, jiu jitsu and chess directed by Mike Relm. The chess set we used was lent to us by www.thechesspiece.com 

HHCF Summer Fundraising Drive Starts Now! Donate Today! 501c3

Greetings from the Hip-Hop Chess Federation!

We hope this letter finds you in great spirits and great health. The Hip-Hop Chess Federation is about to announce our Summer Camps for chess, performing arts and Hip-Hop dance.

Last summer the HHCF Summer Camp was sold out every week! We are in the process of moving facilities this Summer in anticipation of another amazing summer. We are seeking a bigger facility and we should have one solidified within the next 7-10 days. To do this we will need your help in raising $2500.00. This will allow us to purchase new equipment, pay our chess and dance coaches, relaunch our website and scholarship some of the kids whose parents are unable to pay for the camp. We’ve done some amazing things with the HHCF this year. But none of it can continue to happen without you. The Hip-Hop Chess Federation is a 501(c)3 non-profit and your donation is tax deductible. Make a donation to the HHCF TODAY!

The Hip-Hop Chess Federation has a lot of amazing things to announce and we wanted to share them with you!

1. HHCF founder presented at Harvard University VIEW EXCERPTS HERE. Listen to the full lecture HERE

2. Our Cheer and Hip-Hop dance team took 1st, 2nd and 3rd at US Nationals in Disneyland VIEW HERE . Because of the victory our team was invited to PIXAR Studios to perform at a private Monsters University event. We are bound by contract not to show the photos and stuff yet, but, once we get the green light, you will love it. It was an honor, and it was VERY fun.  

3. Hip-Hop Chess Federation will be doing an event at the World Chess Hall of Fame May 8th!

4. HHCF feature in Black Enterprise

5. Aprill 22nd HHCF will drop Opera House Massacre video directed by Mike Relm on YoutTube. Mike Relm is a video remix king (with over 13 million hits on YouTube!!). He is an old ally of the HHCF and is also the producer of Adisa’s www.bishopchronicles.com podcast.

YouTube recently purchased the airplane hangar that the famous Spruce Goose airplane used to be in and made a film studio out of it. Only stars like Matt Damon were previously allowed to shoot there. But because of Mikes following on YouTube he was invited to shoot there and he and Adisa came together with a truly one of a kind film clip called The Opera House Massacre (a remake of a famous game played by the chess legend Paul Morphy). Its about the fusion of chess and jiu jitsu. It will debut on April 22nd on Relmvision and you will be able to catch it also on Bishop Chronicles and www.hiphopchess.blogspot.com . Neither chess, nor jiu jitsu has been filmed like this before. We encourage you to you share it with your friends after you see it.

I know this economy is a beast, but in the shadow of all the turmoil today, you can know that you donate to an organization committed to being on the frontlines to combat violence and enrich the minds of all children and teens. Donate today!  

Yours,

Adisa Banjoko

Founder, HHCF

BREAKING: HHCF at World Chess Hall of Fame!!! (Asheru, Dr. James Peterson, Mike Relm and Gumby on deck!)

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

Mike Relm is a pioneer video remix artist who has toured with The Blue Man Group, Tony Hawk and rocked stages at Coachella, Bonnaroo and The House of Blues. He has more than 13 million hits on Youtube. Notable remixes include Iron Man 2, Old Spice, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World,Doctor Who, and Harry Potter. His Punisher/Spirit/Transporter remix won the 2009 Webby Award for Best Mashup/Remix.

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.

For more information, visit www.worldchesshof.org. 

HHCF Founder Adisa Banjoko Speaking at Harvard University

This was a great event. I spoke at the AOCC event at Harvard. I went first so, the crowd was a bit thin, but I broke it down to the marrow. I had it filmed and I wanted to make sure you saw how I do what I do when I do it.

Enjoy....

Rap Genius Top Ten List of Martial Arts Lyrics in Hip-Hop

The connection between hip-hop and martial arts is vast and expansive. So much so, that to attempt to cover it comprehensively would take a library’s worth of books. That being said, looking at the ten best lyrical sparring moments can teach us a ton about the histories of both art forms

Much of the attraction was that in the initial emergence of the fusion, hip-hop was in many ways a secret society. It was near-impossible to be down with the culture on your own. You needed to have a mentor, a “master” if you will, who could guide you through the subculture. Style, technique, loyalty, lineage, and most of all the willingness to battle without fear were essential. 

READ FULL STORY HERE: http://rapgenius.com/posts/1631-Top-ten-martial-arts-songs-in-hip-hop

HHCF feat. on Rap Genuis "Top Ten Chess Lyrics in Rap"

Hip-hop and chess have been connected for a long time. In fact, of all the music on Earth, no other form of genre has celebrated chess as much as rap. This seems ironic, considering the mental picture one usually gets of the music being played during a chess match is something by Beethoven or Vivaldi

FULL LIST HERE http://rapgenius.com/posts/1627-Top-ten-chess-lyrics-in-hip-hop