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Master Profile
Frank Street Jr., 57, is a living chess legend in Black community. In the 1960s, Frank, NMs Walter Harris and Ken Clayton, set the stage for the harnessing of Black talent in the Washington DC area. Out of this region has sprouted many Black Masters and certainly having these chess role models was important to up-and-coming players.
Frank became a Master in 1965, during a turbulent period when social protestation movements were blazing their respective trails for liberation. Perhaps Black chess Masters in the 60s were making their own mark in the sense that they helped to advance the notion that Blacks could compete at high levels in "intellectual" sports.
Frank initially received recognition by winning the heralded U.S. Amateur Championship in 1965, and for many years thereafter, held the highest rating among Black players. He also won the club championship at the premier chess club, the Washington Chess Divan, by defeating NM Clayton. Frank was preceded only by Walter Harris as one to earn the coveted National Mas
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