Air Force veteran and former Alabama state trooper Orrin Hudson was selling cars in the 1990s when he read about people being shot over $2,400.
“When I saw that story, I knew that even though the dealership was doing well, selling cars wasn’t helping people,” he said. “I wanted to teach young people to choose peace rather than violence.”
Hudson had a rather unusual way to get that message across to kids: chess. An acknowledged gang member growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, he attended an all-Black high school where a white teacher taught him the game.
“He told me checkers only uses half the board, and the pieces are all men, but chess uses every square, and the most powerful people on the board are women,” he said. “I was hooked. Then he taught me how to think.”
Hudson joined a chess club that led to competitions at the University of Alabama Birmingham. “I got beat up really bad, but it made me a better player.”
He mastered the game so well that in 1999 he became the first Black player to win the Birmingham city chess championship – a feat he repeated in 2000. He also was tapped by actor Jane Fonda to come to Atlanta and teach chess and life lessons through her nonprofit, Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power and Potential. Students he taught at Benteen Elementary won three Atlanta Public Schools chess tournaments.
In 2000, Hudson moved to Stone Mountain and launched his own nonprofit, Be Someone. He recruits students through schools and churches, and invites them to eight-week summer boot camps where he shares his catchy philosophies: “Wake up winning. Choose peace over violence. Think it out; don’t shoot it out.”
“I use a life-sized chess board to teach children how to think on their feet,” he said. “I tell them the first thing that pops into your head is usually a trap. The only way to fight is to use your head.”
Hudson estimates he’s taught about 90,000 kids about chess and living. It’s how he repays the vote of confidence he got as a youngster that changed his life.
“I owe my life to a white teacher who saw something in me,” he said. “My goal is to inspire young people to be someone and not settle for less than you can be. I’m all about elevating the next generation because you really win by serving other people.”
Information about Be Someone is online at besomeone.org.
Who’s doing good? Each week, we write about a deserving individual, charity events such as fun-runs, volunteer projects and other community gatherings that benefit a good cause. To suggest an event or person for us to cover, contact us at ajc.doinggood@gmail.com.
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