Debating Racism

As many know, February is Black History Month. There are endless names of people you could read about in honor of this month, but there are lots of movies you could see, too. Just the other day I watched "The Great Debaters" starring (and also directed by) Denzel Washington. It looked entertaining - Denzel normally puts on a good show - but I did not expect it to be so moving. I cannot begin to describe how impactful this movie was - by the end of the movie, I was literally sitting on the edge of my seat, shaking - but I have 300 words here to try to interest you in it enough that you go and watch it for yourself!

The movie tells the true story of Melvin Tolson, an African American professor at Wiley College in Texas in 1935. He leads an all black debate team, and they are the best in the state. His dream is to take his team to debate Harvard...but Harvard is an all white university, and the white people of the little Texas community are determined to make sure that this professor and his team "remember their place."

To make matters worse, Tolson is also giving a voice to the share croppers - black and white alike. He recognizes their poverty and lack of education, and organizes rallies for them, trying to inspire change and better working conditions. Most smart men of his social statis and ethnicity would have minded their own business, did what good they could and turned a blind, albeit sad, eye to the attrocities being committed in the name of superiority. But Tolson wouldn't stand for that. He refused to be silent, and neither the threat of prison or lynching could persuade him to keep quiet.

Better yet, he encouraged both the sharecroppers and his students to stand up to injustice. He told of a man named Lynch who used fear to drive slaves out of their minds, so that they would be submissive. He said, "I am here to help you to find, take back, and keep your righteous mind."

So I'll spoil it a bit in hopes that you'll watch it: The debate team does make it to Harvard, without Tolson. But will they be able to use their strong minds to carry their voices? Will they say what so many are leaving unsaid? Will they be able to battle the best?

You'll have to see for yourself!