by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
A Rated PG-13 124 min.
Considering the time period, 1935, this captivating film, based on the true story of Melvin Tolson (Denzel Washington) is incredibly inspiring. It chronicles the struggle of the small all-black Wiley College’s debating team which went on to debate Harvard and won the national title, ten years in a row. For black college students to achieve such a prestigious intellectual accomplishment in the racist milieu of a nation caught in the grips of the Great Depression is truly amazing.
In that tumultuous era, bread lines and mass unemployment plagued the nation. The Wiley College Debating Team’s achievement predates the Civil Rights Movement by 20 years when, in 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus, which was the spark that ignited the nonviolent civil disobedience movement. The fact that gifted black students could attend college at all during that dark time was revolutionary. In fact, the central characters of the story witness a horrifying lynching, which one of the debaters later used in his debate to win his point.
Produced by Oprah Winfrey and skillfully directed by Denzel Washington, who plays the lead role of Mel Tolson, the story comes alive with a masterfully written script by Robert Eisele. Forest Whitaker portrays James Farmer, a professor at Wiley College and the first black PhD in the nation. The character’s son James Farmer, Jr. is Denzel Whitaker – a pivotal character in the story.
Tolson believed in the absolute power of the mind. The art of debating sharpened these youthful minds like athletics honed bodies. He mentored these bright kids, making them believe in themselves and the power of positive thinking. He chose four of the best debaters for his team, including Frank Farmer, Jr as the group researcher and alternate. These gifted young people had already read the classics and were schooled in various philosophies. Because they were surrounded and protected by the intellectual elite of the black community, they thrived. Only when they ventured out into the nearby towns did they see and experience the ugly plague of racism and violence.
Pivotal to the debating team was its only female, Samantha, portrayed with the scene-stealing righteous indignation by beautiful Junee Smollett. Her debates were delivered with emotional fervor using her sharp intellect to drive home her resolve. Again, viewers will marvel at the intelligence and tenacity of this cadre of brainiacs, who went on to greatness as adults.
Their most important achievement was their sense of history to dedicate themselves to work toward change and ultimately the passage of the Civil Right Bill in 1954. Granting civil rights to blacks by law was one thing, changing how society treated African-Americans was another. Tolson’s greatest achievement was teaching his debate team the importance of non-violent philosophy and using American democracy to affect real change by using the power of their educated minds as their only weapon.
Everyone should see this film–young and old. It’s truly inspirational, educational, and simultaneously entertaining. The Wiley College Debating Team’s accomplishments are a little known but an important part of American history. Tolson’s debating team graduates went on to be influential in the Civil Rights Movement and achieved fame as poets and writers.
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