'I've never seen a program like this': Your Move MKE finds a connection between hip-hop and chess

It's a Friday night and hip-hop music is bouncing off the walls inside a brick building on the south side of Milwaukee, as club members hunch over activity tables. They are Black, Latino and white, both genders and many ages, all playing chess.

Yes, chess.

The Hip-Hop Chess Club of Milwaukee is almost certainly the city's most unusual organization devoted to a board game, and one of several programs offered by Your Move MKE. The non-profit actually grew out of the chess club in 2020.

“We are in the hip-hop community," said Raquel Aleman, co-founder and executive director of Your Move MKE. "I used to do music, and we believe that hip hop heals and teaches you knowledge about yourself. That knowledge can help with mental health and build skills to help in everyday life.”

The target groups for Your Move MKE are Black and brown youths on the south side of Milwaukee, Aleman said, because there is a lack of youth programming in that part of the city.

"I'd like to help bridge the disconnect between the 'hood, suburbs and the more affluent parts of this beautiful city. There's a fear in the unknown. The more we learn about each other, the better," said Brandon Kitts, Your Move MKE project director and music coordinator.

Your Move MKE has different programs for youth to be a part of, each with a different focus.

Chess encourages developing strategies, thinking about next moves and refraining from acting on impulse — all skills that Aleman and others in the group see as critical to growing up in an urban setting. Makin’ Moves Breakdancing focuses on mental health, physical health and discipline. Urban Trade Skills allows youths to explore different trades and develop home improvement skills. Open Forum is a writing and open mic session emphasizing knowledge of self, public speaking and creativity.

Together, as the organizations mission statement says, they focus on "bringing families on the southside of Milwaukee closer together, using programs that focus on higher-level thinking and self-expression through the elements of hip hop."

Eric Ramos brings his three children to Your Move MKE. Ramos enjoys the music himself, but the real attraction is the impact on his kids.

"I love it because my kids love it. It's something different. I've never seen a program like this," Ramos said.

Ramos said his children love the breakdancing and chess. They are always learning new moves, whether it's on the floor or on the chess board.

His 7-year-old daughter "says she feels like shes using her brain more," Ramos said.

Aleman said chess is more a part of urban lifestyle than people may realize. It's often played in parks or on porches. On the streets of New York, speed chess routinely draws crowds. Aleman played chess with her father when visiting him in prison.

"A lot of our young people have parents that are incarcerated, and they play chess with their parents on visits, so it's a really good game for them," she said.

Board members of Your Move MKE come from a music background, Kitts said, and believe in the connection between their passion for hip-hop and the higher-order thinking skills required by chess.

"Hip-hop is all about being in the moment, trusting yourself, being yourself and connecting with others," he said.

That's particularly true in some parts of the south side, Kitts said. "People living in poverty are in a constant state of survival that is all encompassing, and they can get a little of relief from that at Your Move MKE." 

The organization also hosts cleanup efforts, fund-raising drives and car washes.

AJ Mckenzie, communications director, got involved to provide an outlet for youths and the community as a whole.

“This wasn’t present when we were growing up,” he said. “There were organizations like the YMCA and the Boys & Girls Club, but I know many people that weren’t near those or couldn’t get in them. There’s more children than safe havens for them to go.”

The next goal for Your Move MKE is to get a building, in which they can teach trade skills, college readiness, entrepreneurship, and more.

Your Move MKE provides a positive environment and outlet, advocates for the community needs and works with youth and their parents, Mckenzie said.

“Being able to communication with each other is important,” he said. “Each one, teach one.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee program combines creativity of hip-hop, discipline of chess