Black Voices

Issue date: 5/12/08 Section: Features

Denzel Washington stars as Wiley College debate coach, Melvin Tolson

KEEP THIS AS A NOTE TO YOURSELF:

"USE YOUR THOUGHTS AND SPEAK FROM YOUR HEART …THEN YOU CAN USE YOUR HEART, YOUR WORDS, AND YOUR THOUGHTS TO BETTER YOUSELF AND THOSE AROUND YOU…"

In a way, we debate ourselves everyday. We debate our thoughts: who we are, our beliefs, where we are going .

Almost everyone can connect to the theme of the film "The Great Debaters" because we've at one time or another, debated or fought for something we passionately believe in.

BRIEF MOVIE SYNOPSIS:
(Taken from film's official website)

"Inspired by a true story, The Great Debaters chronicles the journey of Professor Melvin Tolson (Denzel Washington), a brilliant but volatile debate team coach who uses the power of words to shape a group of underdog students from a small African American college in the Deep South into a historically elite debate team.

A controversial figure, Professor Tolson challenged the social mores of the time and was under constant fire for his unconventional and ferocious teaching methods as well as his radical political views.

In their pursuit for excellence, Tolson's debate team receives a groundbreaking invitation to debate Harvard University's championship team. The film is directed by Denzel Washington and stars Washington, Forest Whitaker, Jurnee Smollett, Nate Parker, Denzel Whitaker, and Kimberly Elise. The Great Debaters was written by Robert Eisele and produced by Todd Black, Kate Forte, Oprah Winfrey and Joe Roth.

One of the film's primary themes centers on the value of debate as an intellectual and political tool. Coach Melvin B. Tolson teaches his debaters how to find their voices and the need to speak out against injustice. Later in his life, James Farmer Jr. would credit his experiences as a debater with giving him the leadership skills to become an influential civil rights leader and advocate for change at rallies, with politicians, and among his colleagues.
The movie is just the beginning…"

WILEY COLLEGE DEBATES UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALFORNIA:


Wiley College was founded in 1873 by the Freedman's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church for the purpose of providing education to the "newly freed men" and preparing them for a new life. The school is located in Harrison County on 63 acres of land west of Marshall, Texas and between Dallas to the west and Shreveport to the east, according to the college website.

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