BLF Talks: A Conversation with Ernest Levert Jr.

February 27, 2024

Last week, BLF Assistant Director Mike Jones had the opportunity to talk with BLF alumnus Ernest Levert Jr., Founding Director of The Royal Oak Initiative in Columbus, Ohio. When it comes to Black-led businesses in our community, Ernest and his team are a shining example of the power of community and turning passion into purpose. Check out the highlights from the conversation! 

"Don't let the fear of losing keep you from winning."

Full video coming soon.

Can you tell us more about who you all serve and the work you do?

"So the Royal Oak Initiative, nickname "ROI" is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit social business that uses the wisdom of chess to protect, heal and build community by cultivating collective wellness, mindfulness and critical thinking. That is our mission...We originally started off with this idea of helping people develop long term mindsets. I started off in financial services when I got out of school...I was just running across people who were starting to think long term a little bit later in life. And I was like, okay, I wonder if there's a way to teach long term thinking early on."

Can you talk a little bit more specifically about how the programming you all do fosters growth in the area of leadership and citizenship?

"I tell everybody that I bring football energy to the chessboard. It is intense, right? So I apply all this pressure. I say, Yo, you have to work with a partner number one, people think chess is an individual sport, and I'm like, we're working with a partner, one partner makes the moves. The other person has to write their moves down and I gave them only 5 minutes on the clock. So now this this is their first time using clocks and they only got 5 minutes to use.

They're stressing out. And then I was like, And you need to say the move out loud and then you have to repeat the move back so now they practice active listening and parroting, right? You can confirm you heard what someone says by repeating it back to them and then I say, Yo, the winner gets $100! So now they're like, oh God, Well now if I lose they're getting stressed out, they're like, oh my God.

And they're like, I'm terrible. I made a bad move. I made a mistake. I'm going to fail my team. You're slowing us down, you're terrible and like to see within 30 minutes to see them all just like and I was like, don't be so focused on making your own moves that you forget about your team.

That you forget about your family, that you forget about this is the person who's riding with you. You get mad at them because you get so caught up in making this money or in this time pressure that is made up. The worst you can do is lose, bro. The worst you can do is lose. And we are so afraid of failure."

How long are we talking for these sessions? 

"For those kind of intense sessions, an hour and a half is the minimum. We can do an hour of exposure, but I got to take them through the emotional rollercoaster. So you need time for that.

I give them candy, man. Man it's so fun. One goal we're trying to teach them about - I said don't let the fear of losing keep you from winning. I don't know if anyone else has said that. You could put a quote from Ernest Levert Junior said that. Powerful quote. So if they won an exercise or a drill, I give them two pieces of candy. But if they tried and failed, they get one, right? There's still value in trying and losing because then you learn what it takes to go back and get the two. There's still value in taking that L."

How can folks who are interested get involved?

"So easiest is our website, The Royal Oak Initiative. 

Outside of that, making a donation is incredible. We're finding that there are organizations where students are like hungry for chess, but there's not enough resources to support sustainable programming. And so we're really looking for sponsors, businesses, individuals that, we don't want money to be the reason why our kids don't get served. We want to make sure that every family has...some people are like, I would love to play at home. I just don't have a chessboard...like we want to be able to put a chessboard in every home, make sure there's a chess club in every school. You know, that's part of our intention.

And if people can come and play, come and play! That's one of the coolest things you can do. Upper Cup Chess is on the second and fourth Sunday's from 4 to 8, second and fourth y'all, second and fourth, people be like first and third? No, I said second and fourth. Y'all can count to four. Come on, do it. Second and fourth Sunday's from 4 to 8:00 PM.

It's open for everybody. It's designed for the newest person who's been intimidated their whole lives.

Or become a coach. We're also looking for volunteers, people who match the vibe. We want people who can get kids excited about chess and about being good people. That's our standard. If you can get kids, if you're good with kids and they're excited to be around you and they're excited to learn from you and you, yeah, you're a good you're a decent human being. Let's rock.

So anyone who has ideas or wants to connect, we'd love to see it. We think everybody should know how to play. That is the standard. We always say, You got to play chess so you don't get played."