Because Tolson was "blacklisted" ""We worked hard and we weren't intimidated," she said.Wells, born in Houston in 1912, said church has always been a large part of her life. The team, Henry Heights, Hobart Jarrett and Wells lost only one debate out of 75 leading to the national 1935 championship. The movie received a Golden Globe nomination for best drama and may also receive an Oscar nod when those nominations are announced.It's exciting and stressful, all at the same time, she said. This photo shows Melvin B. Tolson (center) and members of the 1935 Wiley College debate team that prevailed over the nationally known University of Southern California during a debate … Wiley's Forensic Society competed against historically black colleges and earned national attention with its 1935 debate against the University of Southern California. Over a 15-year period, Melvin B. Tolson’s debate teams lost only one of 75 debates. The Wiley team first beat almost every black college and eventually broke the color line, facing white law students from the University of Michigan. The argument that Samantha Booke gave at debate team tryouts. The first time he saw me, he said, 'Well, I've got another grandma.'
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"Before the civil rights movement, before Dr. King, Malcolm X, before Rosa Parks, it was Wiley and USC: This little bitty African-American school and this ... predominantly Caucasian school that came together in 1935 when things were still racist in America," said Cary Chavis, Wiley's debate captain, adding that with the event, the two schools "stood firm that racial tension had nothing on the power of speech. The 1935 debate at USC took place when the nation was heavily segregated and helped inspire "The Great Debaters," a 2007 movie starring Denzel Washington. Setting Segregated South Place Marshall, Texas Date 1935 College Willey College Melvin Tolson Founder of the Wiley College debate team. Copyright © 2020 Deseret News Publishing Company. "The Wiley team first beat almost every black college and eventually broke the color line, facing white law students from the University of Michigan. A dedicated mentor, Tolson coached Wiley's debate team through an impressive ten-year winning streak. "Learn to speak well and learn to express yourself effectively," she said. "Though experts say there wasn't a structure for a national debate championship until the late 1940s, USC was known as a nationally competitive debate team, said Gordon Stables, USC's director of debate and forensics.
"We would sit on the floor in the Tolson's living room and discuss topics," she said.