ABOUT THE FILM

Synopsis

Inspired by the critically acclaimed Hollywood film The Great Debaters, The Real Great Debaters of Wiley College unveils the true story of Wiley College’s 1935 debate team and their groundbreaking defeat of the all-white reigning national championship debate team at USC. Shattering racial stereotypes and overcoming adversity against great odds, these courageous young debaters emerged triumphant, commanding not only the respect of their peers… but of the nation. Influenced by their coach Melvin B. Tolson, the Wiley College debaters would go on to devote their talents to the causes of civil justice and social progress and become leaders in the Civil Rights Movement. The film comes full-circle, as the legacies of The Great Debaters inspire Wiley’s new debate team as it seeks to reclaim its glory on the national stage.

Profiles of The Wiley Debaters

Melvin B. Tolson (1898-1966)

Born in 1898 to a Methodist minister and an Afro-Creek mother, Melvin Beaunorus Tolson became the “most famous Negro professor in the Southwest.” According to Langston Hughes, students spoke of him, revered him, remembered him, and loved him. A poet, educator, debate coach, playwright, Trade Unionist, politician, and columnist for the Washington Tribune, Tolson was also declared the Poet Laureate of Liberia. He taught at Wiley College, Langston University, and Tuskegee Institute. His 1931 poem Dark Symphony, which won the 1940 National Poetry Contest and was published in Atlantic Monthly, contrasts African American and European American history. He was also active organizing farm laborers and sharecroppers although few of his activities were reported.

Hobart Jarrett (1915-2005)

After his family’s grocery store and home were destroyed in a race riot in Tulsa in 1921, five-year-old Hobart Jarrett donated his personal nest egg of $13.20 to restart the business. He arrived at Wiley College in 1932, on a music scholarship, but changed his major to English after experiencing a class with Melvin B. Tolson. Upon earning his Ph.D. in English and Humanities from Syracuse University, he taught, then later headed the English Department at Langston University. In 1949, after successfully recruiting Melvin B. Tolson to teach at Langston, Jarrett moved to Greensboro, North Carolina where he became Chair of the Humanities Division at Bennett College. He also spearheaded the Greensboro Citizens Organization and was the faculty advisor for student sit-ins. He was also the chief negotiator with merchants following the student sit-ins. In 1961, he moved to New York and taught at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, and was a recognized scholar of Shakespeare.

Rudolph Henry Heights (Dates unknown)

Due to financial difficulties, Henry Heights attended Wiley College sporadically from 1929-1930 and 1938-1939. In the mid 1940s, Heights wrote a letter to Prof. Tolson from California suggesting that he was going to become a minister, but there is no record verifying that as fact. In his letter, Heights challenged his professor to, “Take up the cause of humanity and become a world poet.” Tolson’s last major poem, Harlem Gallery, included a character named “Hideho Heights,” widely acknowledged to be based on Henry Heights.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

James Farmer Jr. (1920-1999)

After competing with the debate team at the age of 14, James L. Farmer Jr. became a pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement. As one of the “big four” leaders, Farmer co-founded the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE), worked for the NAACP, and, as an advocate for civil disobedience, organized and participated in the first Freedom Rides and sit-ins. Later, he served as the Assistant Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare for President Nixon, and taught at Lincoln University, New York University, University of Mary Washington, and George Mason University. In 1998, President Bill Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.                                                                                                                                                                                    

Henrietta B. Wells (1912-2008)

Born Henrietta Pauline Bell to a single mother from the West Indies, Wells was the only woman and the only freshman who participated in the first interracial collegiate debate. As a Wiley student, she attended classes during the day, held three different jobs, and practiced debating at night. After debating for just one year, she had to drop out in order to work additional hours. Later, she became a social worker, Dean of Women at Dillard University, and a teacher. Before her death, Wells was an advisor on the film The Great Debaters and even encouraged Denzel Washington to play the role of Melvin B. Tolson.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Hamilton Boswell (1915-2007)

After graduating high school in Los Angeles and pursuing a brief career in the entertainment industry, Boswell witnessed the historic 1936 debate between Wiley College and University of Southern California. He was so inspired that he moved to Marshall, Texas to attend Wiley and join the debate team. Later, he obtained a Ph.D. in theology from USC. As a Methodist minister in San Francisco, Boswell believed in religion’s social function. He served as the first chairman of the San Francisco Conference on Religion and Race, co-chair of the Church-Labor Conference, Housing Authority Commissioner, Commissioner of Juvenile Justice, and Chaplain for the San Francisco Police Department and State Assembly. He received numerous awards by the NAACP and California State Legislature.