The Great Debaters

The NAUDL is joining forces with The Weinstein Company in cross-promotional efforts concerning a new film scheduled for release this holiday season called The Great Debaters.  The film has already been nominated for a Golden Globe award in the category “Best Picture, Drama.” 
 
Inspired by a true story, the film features Academy Award winners Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker.  Washington, who also directed, plays Professor Melvin Tolson, the debate coach at Wiley College, a historically Black institution in East Texas.  Set in 1935, Tolson’s debate team receives a groundbreaking invitation to debate Harvard University’s national championship team. 

 The film shows how debate has tremendous potential to effect positive change, not only in the lives of young people, but the broader society as well.  This message is embedded in the work of the NAUDL.  
 
While the film concerns debaters from more than 70 years ago, the NAUDL’s interest is in promoting the “great debaters” of today who compete in the Urban Debate Leagues across the country.  To this end, the NAUDL has launched a website linking the urban debate movement with the film at: www.TheGreatDebaters.org.  The website features several online advocacy campaigns that allow those people who are inspired by the film to make their voices heard.
 
 An example of one of today’s Great Debaters is Voltaire Rico Sterling, who was raised on the South Side of Chicago, attended Whitney Young Magnet School, and debated there in 1995 and 1996.  Voltaire attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, and earned a law degree at Harvard Law School, where he was the first black Class President and Commencement Speaker. 
 
Voltaire, commenting on debate’s role in his subsequent academic success, says: “My high school debate experience taught me to be a disciplined student, and it made me comfortable being critical of ideas that do not sit well with me.”  Realizing that acting was his true calling, Voltaire left the practice of the law, and was handpicked by Denzel Washington who cast him – in a true art-imitating-life moment – for a role in The Great Debaters.
 
As part of these efforts, over 24 cities hosted advance screenings of the film.  The Weinstein Company worked with the NAUDL to provide passes to these screenings in cities nationwide.  We are very appreciative of their support.
 
All in all, the NAUDL worked with the Weinstein Company to create an urban debate presence at over 36 screenings around the country.  A majority occurred in cities with existing UDLs or where the NAUDL is working to build one:  Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Oakland, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Providence, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa, and Washington DC.  The audiences included school and school system leaders, teachers, civic and business leaders, education policymakers, foundation professionals, urban debate supporters, and, of course, debaters themselves.

In five cities -- Miami, Oakland, Chicago, DC, and Atlanta -- the Weinstein Company asked the NAUDL to serve as the “host committee” for pre-release screenings attended by the young actors (Nate Parker, Jurnee Smollett, and Denzel Whitaker) that included Q&A sessions afterwards.  Miami-Dade UDL Executive Director Barbara Garrett hosted the first event, on December 5th, which drew crowds of UDL students, teachers, and supporters.  In Oakland, the screening drew supporters of the efforts to launch a Bay Area Urban Debate League and the young talent also visited Balboa High School – an event covered by the San Francisco Chronicle.  In Chicago, local radio disk jockey, Bonnie De Shong, moderated a conversation between the audience and the actors.  In Washington DC, a Red Carpet event at Lincoln Theater included guests of the NAUDL and coach Melvin Tolson’s family, and members of the Baltimore and DC UDLs also attended.  And, in Atlanta, the National Debate Project and Atlanta Urban Debate League, represented by James Roland and Melissa Wade of Emory University, hosted the screening and subsequent meet and greet.  Atlanta UDL students presented actors with medals for their "outstanding performance" and engraved clocks that read "From one great debater, to another." 

The publicity surrounding the movie has helped to generate national press coverage for local Leagues.  On December 19, students from the Jersey Urban Debate League and the IMPACT Coalition appeared on BET's 106 and Park with Denzel Washington and other cast members from the film.  The show included short debate on the appropriateness of music sharing on the internet.  In Chicago, Fox News anchor Robin Robinson, did a segment spotlighting the success of Harland High School debate team and the Chicago UDL.  She ended the piece by announcing that 90 percent of CDL debaters graduate and 75 percent go to college, and opined that statistics about the Leagues' success "are so telling."  On another Chicago station, NBC-5, Art Norman argued that an exclusive screening for CDL debaters helped to keep students excited about debate.  

 There has been substantial newspaper coverage as well.  The Kansas City Star ran a story praising DEBATE-Kansas City and discussing the reactions of its debaters to the film.  And, a Chicago Sun-Times article connected the film with the urban debate. 

The NAUDL anticipates that The Great Debaters will continue to shine a spotlight on the power of debate to transform the lives of young people in the weeks and months to come.  We look forward to continuing to collaborate with UDLs around the country to use the film as a platform to promote the urban debate movement.