Today we’d like to introduce you to Ernest Levert Jr.
Hi Ernest, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Chess has been a part of my life since I was 10 years old. One of my earliest memories of chess was teaching and playing chess in my elementary school library with younger students when I was in 5th grade. Chess has always been a tool and platform for exploring my internal world while developing my ability to think through problems. My father got me a chess software program in middle school, which launched my game to the next level. This gave me a great boost of confidence and a foundation of solid chess fundamentals that I still carry with me to this day. These newly acquired skills empowered me to connect with others throughout my school, community, and across the world.
Chess is a universal language, played in every country in the world and spanning over 1500 years of global history. Chess appeals to those who enjoy cerebral stimulation and recreation. The royal game has allowed me to build friendships, connect with mentors, and serve others in a fun and invigorating way. This all led to the establishment of The Royal Oak Initiative (ROI), a chess-based mentoring and social change organization that seeks to use the wisdom of chess to protect, heal, and build community by cultivating collective wellness, mindfulness, and critical thinking.
Everything started with a nudge from my pastor, Keith Troy, at New Salem Missionary Baptist Church. I had finally graduated from The Ohio State University in 2013 with a degree in Biomedical Engineering. Unfortunately, I had lost interest in engineering at the time but wanted to finish my degree and then use my experiences to impact the world. I was referred to the Expanding Visions Foundation, another mentoring program led by Cornell Lewis. He took me under his wing and invited me to add a chess component, which they were coincidentally preparing to launch at the same time. Serendipity is one of my favorite words and it shows up all the time in my life. I’m grateful for the timing and abundance of resources that presented themselves in that season.
I developed a basic curriculum tying each chess piece to a leadership principle and began by teaching a 20–30-minute lesson to students that were already a part of the Expanding Visions Foundation programming at 11th and Cleveland in the Linden neighborhood. We still use that outline to this day.
Since then, we have had the opportunity to work with dozens of organizations and hundreds of students, facilitating chess-based leadership programming through our Royal Oak Chess Citizenship Academy, creating cultures of critical thinking and collective wellness through our Royal Oak Chess Clubs, and curating unique chess-based experiences at restaurants, community centers, and libraries to engage all those with an interest in the game.
It’s been amazing watching the growth of the chess community and we pride ourselves on engaging many who previously avoided chess spaces due to intimidation, toxic competitiveness, or white supremacy culture. We believe that chess is a game for everyone and we strive to create a culture where those who have typically been underrepresented or marginalized, feel comfortable getting on the board and joining the journey!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
“Sounds good” is one of my favorite quips as it encapsulates the idealism of a dream with the awareness that implementing the plan in reality indubitably entails a number of challenges and obstacles. Chess is world-renowned as a game of strategy, a battle in which the wits of geniuses collide, with the victor navigating the perils of the chess jungle while constantly adjusting their plan based on the movements of their foe. Chess mirrors life in many ways, including the need to pivot and remain flexible in response to the ebbs and flows of the journey. This has been the story of The Royal Oak Initiative (ROI), a rollercoaster of a ride, complete with inspiring victories and crushing setbacks.
One of the greatest struggles that ROI has experienced has been convincing others of their own power. Chess has been marketed to the world as an intellectual game, thus creating a phenomenon in which people hesitate to engage for fear of being exposed as less than worthy. We hear the same sentiments all the time: Chess is boring. Chess is for nerds. I’m not smart enough to play chess. Chess is for white people. I’m not patient enough to play chess. None of these statements have to be true. It has been a challenging yet rewarding experience empowering others to believe in themselves, to embrace failure as a path to success, and to engage in uncomfortable learning to model the way for our youth.
Aside from battling the stigmas associated with chess, we have run into the same issues as any other typical start-up business. From limited capacity to capitalize on opportunities, to shutting down temporarily due to the pandemic, the last 8 years has taught us many lessons about resilience, determination, grace, rest, and wisdom. As a founder, it can be difficult (if not impossible) to consistently maintain a high level of inspiration, motivation, and energy to keep things moving forward. Yet, with the support of community and loved ones, constant reminders of the value of the vision, and reflection on past victories and growth, we have been able to push through the friction and tension, moving like pawns, one step at a time towards our destiny.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The Royal Oak Initiative (ROI) uses the game of chess to inspire and empower the leaders of tomorrow to master their own future of personal and economic success. With a foundational mission focused on financial literacy and critical thinking, ROI has evolved greatly, now seeking to connect and catalyze the community by activating chess clubs, hosting engaging workshops and events, and teaching youth how to lead their own chess organizations.
We recently launched the Cooperative Chess Cultural Center (the 4C- “the fork), an Africentric chess-inspired programming space for hosting tournaments, classes, and even workshops where folks can learn how to make their own chess boards and pieces. Guided by our motto of “Chess for Wisdom & Wellness”, we are constantly exploring ways to contribute to community culture in which people value themselves and others not only based on their physical or financial prowess, but also based on their humanity, mental acuity, creativity, and service to community. We welcome folks of all skill levels and from all backgrounds, centering those who often feel the most uncomfortable in traditional chess spaces. Although we don’t expect that everyone will love playing chess, we believe that all can benefit from learning the game, not only for what it teaches you about yourself but also for what it reveals about life.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The shifts in the chess world have been fascinating to watch. From the surge of popularity of chess due to the release of “Queen’s Gambit” on Netflix, to the incorporation and expansion of technology through streaming, e-sports, and mobile applications, chess has been brought into the new decade with a new lease on life. The pandemic forced a lot of in-person organizers to shift to the virtual space, thus opening doors of opportunity that didn’t previously exist across cities, states, and even countries. This is all taking place within the greater world of education and economics, with the world of work influencing how we prepare youth for adulthood. As companies continue reinforcing the value of critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity, we expect to see a continually increasing interest in chess as a standard educational tool at the elementary and middle school levels, even potentially showing up more as a professional development opportunity in the workplace.
Chess also has gotten some attention lately as a potential platform for addressing community conflict. Some organizations have explicitly focused their efforts on using chess to curtail violence. We expect that chess will find its way more regularly into spaces seeking to elevate mindfulness, intentionality, and conflict resolution into the cultural fabric of the community.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@theroichess.org
- Website: theroichess.org
- Instagram: instagram.com/theroichess
- Facebook: facebook.com/theroichess
- Twitter: twitter.com/theroichess
Image Credits
Ernest Levert Jr.
Kevin McIntyre
Stephen T. Singleton
Eryn Powell
