On Dec. 25 The Great Debaters will appear in theaters with Denzel Washington as its director and star, and Oprah Winfrey as producer. The film depicts the triumph of Wiley College, a small black liberal arts college in Marshall, Texas, where in 1935 the black poet and professor Melvin B. Tolson coached his debating team to a national championship in the face of Academic Racism.
See: New York Times December 5, 2007
