Young, Gifted & Black Series
By Taki S. Raton
James Black, Jr. - Justus Williams - Joshua Colas
Our young and brilliant African American young men are disproportionately represented in the bottom ranks of nearly every socio-developmental trend in America. We lead the nation in dropout rates, school suspensions, low graduation numbers, unemployment, and incarceration statistics.
But according to Your Black World Coalition founder Dr. Boyce Watkins, another area where Black boys are highly-represented is among the number of chess masters in the United States.
According to Watkins, “this representation shows the tremendous genius of young Black men when placed in motivational environments.”
As noted in his November 14, 2011 writing, “Black Like Moi,” less than two percent of the United States Chess Federation are masters, counting 47,000 members. Only 13 of those masters are under the age of 14. And as of the 2011 Watkins’ writing, three of the 13 masters are African American young men.
They are young, gifted, and Black and all three of these men live in New York City. James Black, Jr., Justice Williams, and Joshua Colas were named masters before their respective 13th birthdays.
Writes Paul Shepard in his September 28th 2010 “Black Spin” article “Justus Williams is Crowned Youngest Black Chess Master,” Justus set the record at the age of 12 as being the youngest Black chess player ever to reach the level of chess master. The U.S. Chess Federation awards the title of National Master to anyone who earns a USCF rating of 2,200.
Justus, according to Shepard, was noted two years ago as the highest-rated player in the United States in his age and gender group and ranked fourth overall in the World Chess Federation international rankings.
“I am really proud of Justus because he keeps breaking records and making history,” said Latisha Ballard, his mother during the September 23 chess event where the young chess competitor hit the 2,200 marker to achieve the master rating.
“Masters of the Game and Leaders by Example” banners the article by Dylan Loeb McClain where he reveals that Joshua, then 13, became a chess master in December of 2010 and James at 12 achieved the masters’ level in July, 2010.
“Masters don’t happen every day, and African American masters who are 12 never happen,” says Maurice Ashley who was 45 at the time of the McClain quoting. “To have three young players do what they have done is something of an amazing curiosity. You normally wouldn’t get something like that in any city of any race.”
Born in St. Andrew, Jamaica, Ashely was noted as of 2011 to be the only African American to have achieved the rank of a chess grandmaster, the highest chess ranking possible. According to published reports, Ashely became a master at age 20 and a grand master at 34.
In the October 2006 ranking, Ashley had an international chess rating of 2465, a United States Chess Federation rating of 2520, and 2536 at quick chess. In 2005, he wrote the book “Chess for Success,” detailing his winning path experiences and the positive aspects of chess.
Writes Lynette Holloway in her November 15, 2011 “Root” article “Black Teens Win Praise As Young Chess Masters,” James, Justice, and Joshua “hope to achieve the same title by the time they graduate from high school.”
In the November 14, 2011 blog “The Black Man Can,” writer Naeesa Aziz of bet. com reveals that all of our young men put in long hours “studying the game with professional coaches who are grandmasters.” According to Aziz, lessons can run up to $100 an hour.
“The boys have found that the decision to become a chess great has meant forgoing some of the popular after school activities for the love of the game,” she adds.
Aziz states that although all three are rivals, they remain “cordial colleagues who understand the rarity and importance of their titles.”
Prior to Justus, there was another African American male who held the record as being one of the youngest Black chess master, Kassa Korley, also from New York.
Kassa entered the 2008 St. John‘s Masters tournament in New York with 2185 points, just 15 points shy of the 2200 qualifying master level. But according to an August 21, 2008 update by Daaim Shabazz, Kassa beat out Jay Bonin and held Jaan Ehlvest and Michael Rohde to draws, thus netting him 32 rating points and the National Master’s title.
Kassa had actually just turned 15 and therefore broke the 25-year old record of becoming the youngest U.S. player of African ancestry to make National Master. The youngest African American chess prodigy however would be Kangugi “K.K.” Karanja. Born November 23, 1973, Karanja became a U.S. Chess Federation Candidate Master at the age of 10, the youngest African American to do so.
In 1985 at the age of 11, he won the National Elementary Chess Championship with a perfect 7-0 score becoming the first African American to win a national scholastic title and the second African American to win a national chess championship. Frank Street, Jr. was the first, winning the 1965 U.S. Amatuer Championship in 1965.
Dr. Daaim Shabazz is a professor at Florida A&M University. He maintains a website that records the number of African American chess masters in the United States. According to his site as of last year, 85 masters are African American.
Says Holloway of James, Justus, and Joshua in her closing, “We applaud the teens for their hard work and commitment. It is great to see African American youth aspire to something other than athletics. They are an inspiration for young people their age and beyond.”