Bum Rush the Boards:
Teaching Life Lessons Through Chess
By Mercia Williams-Murray
Informer Staff Writer
More than 35 young people showed up for the Second Annual Bum Rush the Boards Hip-Hop Chess Tournament held in Chinatown last weekend on a day that marked birthdays for two world-renowned leaders - Malcolm X and Ho Chi Minh.
Just as Malcolm X struggled to instill Black pride in the nation’s African American population and Vietnamese revolutionary Ho Chi Minh
struggled for his country’s independence, a dedicated few are struggling to empower and enlighten some of the District’s at-risk youth population.
Words, Beats and Life, a nonprofit organization at the Urban Arts Academy, offers discussions, trips, events, tutoring and mentoring. Employees and volunteers cater to the natural abilities and skills of kids, encouraging them to pursue post-secondary education.
Housed in the Benning Park Recreation Center, the Academy caters to youth ages seven to 18, who live in Ward 7. Youth learn reading comprehension through the use of Hip-Hop lyrics and poetry. They learn and practice Chess on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and they love that above the other activities available at the academy.
Not only do children enjoy playing the game, according to Tyler Brown, who works at the Academy, they learn critical thinking, strategizing and thinking ahead about what consequences each move will bring --skills necessary for a prosperous life.
Tournament players arrived excited Saturday, May 19, for a day of fun. The tournament consisted of three rounds, with the competitors grouped according to their level of ability. It was not uncommon for a 12-year old to play someone who was 16. Each round meant a victory for whoever accumulated the most points after 24 minutes of play. Those who loss their round went into the gym for other activities.
“So they don’t feel like they lost everything,” Brown said. After each round, opponents were told to shake hands before counting their points.
Volunteers stood at opposite ends of the tables, monitoring and judging several pairs of players. The monitors would scrunch their face with curiosity about a doubtful move that had been made or smile when a move seemed promising.
During the third round, WBL marketing director Mazi Mutafa reprimanded one young man for telling another youngster to shut up. Mutafa then commanded 20 push-ups, citing the offense as disrespectful.
“They [are] from the same neighborhood,” Mutafa said. “They need to show each other love.”
According to Papi Kymone Freeman, founder of the National Black LUV Festival, the number of youth in the tournament has doubled from last year.
Other activities offered during the tournament, in another room, included lessons in how to spin and mix records by a professional deejay. Some students were especially interested in learning the art of break dancing, another treat offered, and some discovered how to turn graffiti into an art form.
In the room where the Chess games were played, medals and trophies glistened on a nearby table for the ultimate victors. The young players made slow, deliberate and purposeful moves. Their faces were concentrated and intense.
Brown says that Words, Beats, and Life volunteers hope to take the program national because the same issues exist for at-risk youth all over the country. The challenge is finding out what works and what aspects of the program to replicate.
Other supporters and participants of Bum Rush the Boards hail from Kid Power DC, which operates out of Tubman Elementary School and other sites. The Potomac Lighthouse Academy, which is a charter school that prepares kids for college, also coordinates with WBL.
