The Great Debaters

THE GREAT DEBATERS

WITH DENZEL WASHINGTON & FOREST WHITAKER

PRODUCED BY OPRAH WINFREY 'S HARPO

DIRECTED BY DENZEL WASHINGTON

This movie was inspired by a true story. It takes place in Marshall, Texas in 1935. Mr. Melvin B. Tolson, coach of the debate team at Wiley College, does a brillant job of developing his students into a debate team that cannot be beat. This achievement illustrated how African-American underdogs were able to defeat superior rated white students. The debaters at Wiley won over the team at the University of Southern California (USC). In the movie, the debate took place at Harvard. A note at the end of this review explains why the change was made in location. According to Robert Ebert, this story went beyond depicting how the Wiley debate team defeated the champions. The coach, students, community believe education is their best way out of the prisoning entanglements of racism and discrimination.

As director of “The Debaters”, Denzel Washington wanted the actors to meet the real people.

Mr. Melvin B. Tolson--(Denzel Washington) is a columnist, politician, poet, educator, debate coach. He broke through the color barrier and competed against USC. (In the movie, Harvard) In 1947, he was named Poet Laureate of Liberia. For both black and white sharecroppers, he helped to organize a national union which made him feared as a rebel, even a communist.

Dr. James Farmer, Sr.--(Forest Whitaker) was part of a force to change America. He walked from Florida to Massachusetts to attend Boston University to receive his doctorate degree.

Samantha Brooks-(Jurnee Smollet) This character was loosely based on the real person Henrietta Wells. An excellent student who became the first female debater.

Henry Lowe--(Nate Parker) This character's real name was Henry Heights. He was arrogantly intellectual, good with rebuttals, and could make the opponent look bad.

James Farmer, Jr.-- (Denzel Whitaker) was a precocious fourteen year old who did the research for the debate team. He was one of the main debaters against the University of Southern California which Wiley won.

This movie depicted the environment in the 1930's towards the blacks. These students were one generation away from slavery. A term “Jim Crow” depicted the separatist movement which made the blacks seem “invisible.” They had to use separate facilities from the whites, such as: buses, hotels, bathrooms, restaurants, etc. During this time whites were lynching blacks. Such a lynching took place just before the big debate at USC which James Farmer, Jr., used effectively in his presentation. His rendition of this event played a major role in winning the debate.

To understand why Harvard was mentioned in the movie instead of USC, '“Co-writer Robert Eisele explains: “In that era there was much at stake when a black college debated any white school particularly one with the stature of Harvard. We used Harvard to demonstrate the heights they achieved.'”

“The Great Debaters” is truly worth watching. The story is riveting and the acting is superb. From my point of view—an educational experience reminding us of why the Civil Rights Movement was needed.