Denzel Washington stars as Wiley College debate coach, Melvin Tolson

"Great Debaters": USC's History

By: Ashley Williams

Posted: 5/12/08

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.

In 1924, Melvin Tolson accepted a position as instructor of English and speech at Wiley . There, he taught, wrote poetry and novels, coached football and directed plays. In 1929, Tolson coached the Wiley debate teams, which established a ten-year winning streak. The Debate Team beat the larger black schools of its day like Tuskegee, Fisk and Howard.

According to James Farmer, Tolson's drive to win, to eliminate risk, meant that his debaters were actors more than spontaneous thinkers. Tolson wrote all the speeches and the debate team memorized them. He drilled them on every gesture and every pause.

Tolson was so skilled at the art of debating that he also figured out the arguments that opponents would make and wrote rebuttals for them-before the actual debate.

In 1935, he led the Wiley Debate Team to the national championship to defeat the University of Southern California before an audience of eleven hundred people.

THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA'S DEBATE TEAM TODAY:
USC's Debate Team is the oldest organization at the university. Led by Doctor Gordon Stables, the team competes as a policy debate team--debating on issues involving the way governments work to bring about change in the world.

The team's influence on the country is impressive. In fact, this year two pairs of the team will be heading to the National Debate Tournament, which is highest debater tournament any team can be allow to compete in it.

BE LIKE A DEBATER:
Debating educates us on problems within the world as well as ways we can bring about a change.

Think about all the times that you may have felt cheated, mbeen mad about something that happened in society, or just wanted more positive changes in the world.

We cannot just sit around talking and criticizing everything that goes on around us. If we did this, then nothing would change. Ghandi says it best: "Be the change you want to see in the world."

We need to be proactive. I am not saying you have to join a debate team, but I am begging you to ACT on, not just TALK about the issues that seem to bug you the most.

Being activists can help us become the leaders of tomorrow and implement the changes that we want to see in our world today.