Intergenerational and multicultural: Connecting on the chess board

The smell of incense floats through the air and posters, photos and signs cover nearly every inch of the yellow-painted walls of Homeland Village Cultural Center. 

Inside this distinctively green little brick building off of Napier Ave., five or six different chess games once played out at the same time. A light-colored wooden chess table stands out amongst the brightly colored fabrics, books and beaded jewelry. Another chess game sits — ready for play — on a grecian stand with a glass top.

Kirklyn Hodges opened Homeland Village in 2001 as his way of giving back to the community in which he grew up. 

“We like to do things that really build the village up, to make the village more purposeful,” he said. 

At the time, Hodges worked as a contractor and would bring leftover materials to renovate the empty building, a project which took five years to complete, but was a “labor of love.”

With Homeland Village, Hodges aimed to offer a local place where folks could find resources and enrichment. Since it opened, the community center has also turned into a hub for chess enthusiasts, young and old alike.

Queens and Kings chess program

Hodges originally learned to play chess in 1980 and hosted an adult chess league at Homeland Village. He also began teaching the youth how to play. 

“It was a game that really fascinated me and once I learned it, I felt the need to teach it,” he said, noting that it forces kids to think critically.

Folks are disenfranchised in certain parts of Macon, according to Hodges, kids don’t have things to mold, nurture and discipline them. 

He has also taught young folks woodworking and tennis. He even visited Ghana and taught children how to play chess. 

More than a decade ago, Hodges met Chuck Henderson, someone who holds a similar passion for chess and teaching children. 

Henderson and Hodges began a grassroots effort called Queens and Kings in 2015 to teach young folks how to play chess. Although free to the kids who would come to Homeland Village to play, the program was fully funded out of Henderson and Hodges’ own pockets. 

“Whenever we had time, extra money, we just put things together and made it happen,” said Chuck, who works as an electrical contractor and began playing chess for fun in his twenties. 

Chess and Community in Macon 

Henderson’s chess program didn’t start expanding beyond Homeland Village until 2019 when he connected with a former high school classmate, Lemuel LaRoche, who had founded a nonprofit called Chess and Community.

LaRoche, a professor of sociology at UGA began examining chess’s positive impact on kids within the juvenile justice system in 2002. Since then, he has expanded his efforts in Athens and Atlanta. 

The organization combines chess, robotics and debate in order to encourage critical thinking, emotional regulation and problem-solving abilities in youth. 

Henderson joined forces with LaRoche, officially establishing the Macon branch of Chess and Community in 2022 and becoming its regional director. 

The organization received two grants from Macon Violence Prevention and the program doubled in size from 2022 to 2023.

Jalen Aliyu, 15, first played chess in elementary school, but really got into it at Homeland Village in 2022. 

“I wasn’t even planning on playing chess and then I saw the board, and I was like, “I’m going to give it a go,” he recalled. 

Aliyu enjoys watching his own growth in chess and appreciates how the game makes him think first — a core part of the Chess and Community motto, “Think Before You Move.”

“He was one of my brightest pupils. He’s very sharp, he takes his time, he studies the board and he gives you a great challenge,” said Hodges.

The two laugh, recalling how Aliyu never won a game against his mentor, but he still feels a sense of accomplishment from losing because it’s a learning experience. 

“We believe each one, teach one. When you learn you pass it on and you never lose because if you’re learning from that loss then you’re building more confidence,” said Hodges. 

Chess is not just a game but a skill

Not only do Chess and Community participants develop their chess skills, but the program also introduces them to STEM. 

Kids build robots and learn to code, all while building leadership and social skills. 

“A lot of times these kids are not exposed to just positive outlooks,” Henderson told The Melody. “They’re constantly bombarded by their environment with negativity. So that’s pretty much all they see.”

He wants to offer kids in his community a more constructive means of channeling their energy and demonstrate that it is possible to have a career in STEM. Instead of always being in “survival mode,” and acting out first, Henderson hopes being surrounded by peers with similar interests and a shared goal will encourage them to think critically. 

Many kids who struggled in the past have joined Chess and Community, Henderson recalled, and completely turned their lives around. Some even become student robotics coaches and get paid to mentor their peers. 

“A lot of people kind of label them and look at them as being menaces or they’re just troublemakers,” he said. “You can’t help them. That’s not true.”

The game of chess also helps kids with attention deficit issues to focus and open play chess time provides an opportunity for parent and child to bond one-on-one. 

Chess can be a therapeutic experience, one that transcends generational and cultural boundaries. 

“You don’t have to speak the same language,” Henderson said. “I play people from different countries. We can’t even communicate verbally, but on the chessboard we can.”

He believes “it builds bridges,” and in March, seven kids from Nigeria will visit Macon to play chess with members of the Chess and Community program. 

Henderson used to host several events per month throughout the community, such as chess and wings at Francar’s; however, many folks don’t know about the program and he struggles to maintain steady volunteer support. 

In the past, they’ve had volunteers from Mercer’s chess club and from the National Association of Black Engineers. 

Recently, there has only been about one event per month, but this hasn’t disrupted Henderson’s dedication to teaching chess and inspiring the youth in Macon.

“I like to see them overcome their doubts and fears,” he said. “It’s an awesome experience just to see them learn something that they didn’t think that they would be able to learn.”

Chess and Community’s next event will be Oct. 26 at Memorial Park Recreation Center from noon to 2 p.m and in December there will be a chess and cigars event at Churchills.

Email chuck@chessandcommunity to find out more about volunteering opportunities.