The Great Debaters

“When the nation was in need, he inspired them to give us hope.”

Melvin B. Tolson (Denzel Washington) teaches English at Wiley College in 1935 Texas, known on campus as much for his radical politics as for his gift with words. He builds a debate team from underdog students, among them fourteen-year-old James Farmer Jr. (Denzel Whitaker), with Harvard as the far-off goal. Washington also directs, and the story leans on the bond between teacher and students, a coach who asks them to speak as if the room already belongs to them.