Oscar Muro

The mark of racism, the wound of Americas past, the long tied of tension between the
races. In the midst of the 1930s, racism was lurking through minds of the people, rules were set
up to separate the whites and black. The rules like the Jim crow laws, which separated blacks and
whites as if they lived in separate worlds. They were told were to sit and were to not sit,
restaurants not allowing entrance to them, or even being allowed to drink out of fountains. The
rise in tension increased with the rise of the klu klux clan starting riots and outbreaks against
blacks. They were down upon, they were viewed as lesser by many whites and were treated like
that but times changed from the years of slavery and they were allowed to live peacefully, but
not fully. The flame of racism burned the most in the south, were mobs of KKK were lunching
Blacks without giving them a proper trial in court.
Finding a Job as a Black was equally difficult considering employers were always
skeptical of them. With what little money they had gained they were put in smaller living areas
called ghettos. There a few people like W. E. B. Du Bois who set out to change how they were
treated. Presidents like Theodore Roosevelt established welfare which benefited those who could
not find a job for food. A sort of uprising came from the black community, such as the Harlem
renaissance, where a group of authors from Harlem wrote books of their lives as black people.
So, even though the many issues they faced they still have not given up and continue to live
mean that they have the will to pursue a better life and continuing to make create a better future.
In the modern life of 1935 at Wiley College, Marshal, Texas, life as a black student is
challenging in a curricular type of way. Mr. Tolson, a teacher at the college, is holding tryouts
for the debate team. Of the people who attended there was Henry Lowe, who Mr. Tolson just the
other night caught him brawling at a party the other night, Samantha Booke, a transfer student
who wants to be the first Female to be ever put into the debate team at Wiley College, James

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Farmer Junior, a 14-year at college trying to make his dad proud by making it in the debate team.
These three characters along with Hamilton Burges would represent as Wiley Colleges debate
team. After the excitement of having made the debate team, Jamess father takes the family on
trip, but was cut short when he accidently hit a pig on the road. Mr. Farmer went to check out the
status on the pig as two white farmers come out to see what had happened, one of them with his
gun out. Mr. Farmer apologizes and offers to pay for the pig, the farmers agree to $25, Mr.
Farmer only had $17 in form of a check but agrees to give it to them, as he hands him the check
the farmer lets go of it, making it drop to the ground and makes Mr. Farmer pick it up. Later on,
the school has a homecoming dance, Henry, who is quite the charmer, invites Samantha to a
dance and later on asks her if she wants to see a real party, they proceed to leave together. After
the party James proceeds to head back home, but sees Mr. Tolson leave his home dressed as a
farmer, curios, James follows Mr. Tolson to a bar shack filled with other farmer looking
individuals, both black and white. James overhears them talk about starting a union and reveling,
soon enough a mob raid the barn, guns a blazing and lighting on fire. Mr. Tolson now seeing
James pulls him out of the barn and helps him escape, and tells him to keep it a secret. James
head back home in which his father was concerned about him, he grounds him for not telling him
where he was. After that night it was time for the debaters to start preparing their first debates, a
time lapse later and the have become conference champions. With the success of the debaters
Mr. Tolson announces that they will be facing with Oklahoma city university, a white college.
All is cheery, then Hamilton mentions his concern f recent rumors spreading about Mr. Tolson
and his political views and about him being a communist, Mr. Tolson states that his political
views are his own. Hamilton, afraid of the situation resigns from the group. After the debate at
Oklahoma a celebration is held at Mr. Tolsons residence, in which Mr. Famer speaks his

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concern to Mr. Tolson about his actions and the rumors. Henry talks decides to take Samantha by
the lake and show her where he grew up, later that night Samantha decides to stay at Henrys.
That morning the other group of debaters show up at Henrys, James knock his door, upon
answering the door James sees that Samanthas shoes are inside his house. Upon leaving James
gives him a stare and walks away. Later that day, during a meeting with the debate club Henry
appears to be absent, and Samantha can see the distrust in James, she tells him that she doesnt
want to lose his friendship, in which James states that she cant lose something she never had,
upon leaving, James is put back by the incoming Texas rangers, the Rangers grab hold of Mr.
Tolson and take him away. At the police station, a mob of black farmers has gathered and
demand to set him free. Mr. Farmer arrives with Mr. Tolsons wife and attorney and suggest to
him to let Mr. Tolson go. The Sheriff, seeing the mob, agrees to let him go, the mob then
dissipates. At the debate meeting the other day Mr. Tolson suggest to the debaters to keep going
and not to give up and states that he plans to debate against Harvard, the National Debate
champions. The debaters think he is crazy but continue debating. Later that night Mr. Tolson is
driving the debaters back home, stops to see a mob of people doing what seems like burning and
crucifying a black man. The white mob upon seeing the color of their skins, chase after them in
pursuit, they managed to get away. The group decides to stay the night at Tolsons, but Henry
heads out. Later that night Henry is seen by both James and Samantha, drunk and making out
with another girl. James helps him get inside and into bed but argues that the group is hurting
because of his actions, Henry infuriated tells him that everyone is infuriated and that stuff like
they saw happens all the time in Texas and it doesnt matter what they did , James is saddened by
this but Henry tells him to just keep it together. During the next debate Samantha is not present
because of what Henry did. When it was time for James to debate he could not give out as much

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and they ended up losing the debate. Mr. Tolson arriving home gets a letter from Harvard stating
that they are impressed by their record and want to challenge them. Getting ready to leave by
train, Mr. Tolson tells the debaters that because of his incident that he is not allowed to leave the
state. Enjoying their stay at Harvard they are informed that the topic was changed last minute,
which mean they will have to study all night. After a long night Henry is frustrated with the
group and leaves, he roams the city and realizes what he must do, he heads back to his
teammates and tells James that he will be the one debating for him. During the debate, it was
broadcasted throughout the nation, the topic was civil disobedience using the crucified black man
as an example of civil disobedience, James manages to win against Harvard.
Throughout the story of the great debaters after every debate they increase their
chances of facing of white colleges, this is big to them because their schools are separated by
color and seeing that some people like them can face up to the top debate schools. To them they
are getting the power necessary to rise above their bad past and finally le the world know that
they are tired of all the segregation that they have faced for so long. They overcame the
challenges they faced by believing in not only themselves but in others, I believe that that was
one of the meanings of this movie, to keep going until you succeed.
The great debtors overcame their racial stereotypes by playing their game, the
white mans game, and beating them at it. They challenged themselves with the task of facing of
against not only top black colleges but top white colleges as well. They went off and faced
against Harvard University, the debating champions. They used their experiences and knowledge
of their world and how it segregates them to have get their point across about all the wrong
doings that are happening to them. As James Farmer states junior states in the movie We do
what we have to do in order to do what we want to do.

Oscar Muro

Bibliography

LaFosta, Alex. "Racism in the 1920s & 1930s | The Classroom | Synonym. The Classroom.
N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2014.

"Racial Segregation in the American South: Jim Crow Laws."Find.galegroup.com. Prejudice

in the Modern World Reference Library, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crow_laws