The Great Debaters
''The Great Debaters'' is a 2007 American biographical drama film directed by and starring Denzel Washington. It is based on an article written about the Wiley College debate team by Tony Scherman for the spring 1997 issue of ''American Legacy''. The film co-stars Forest Whitaker, Denzel Whitaker, Kimberly Elise, Nate Parker, Gina Ravera, Jermaine Williams and Jurnee Smollett. The screenplay is written by Robert Eisele, with story by Robert Eisele and Jeffrey Porro. The film was released in theaters on December 25, 2007. Plot Based on a true story, the plot revolves around the efforts of debate coach Melvin B. Tolson (Denzel Washington) at Wiley College, a historically black college related to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (now The United Methodist Church), to place his team on equal footing with whites in the American South during the 1930s, when Jim Crow laws were common and lynch mobs were a fear for blacks. The Wiley team eventually succeeds to the point where they ar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington has received numerous accolades, including a Tony Award, two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and two Silver Bears. In 2016, he received the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2020, ''The New York Times'' named him the greatest actor of the 21st century. In 2022, Washington received the Presidential Medal of Freedom bestowed upon him by President Joe Biden. Washington started his acting career in theatre, acting in performances off-Broadway, including William Shakespeare's ''Coriolanus'' in 1979. He first came to prominence in the medical drama '' St. Elsewhere'' (1982–1988). Washington's early film roles included Norman Jewison's '' A Soldier's Story'' (1984) and Richard Attenborough's ''Cry Freedom'' (1987 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Box Office Mojo
Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb, which itself is owned by Amazon. History Brandon Gray began the site on August 7, 1998, making forecasts of the top-10 highest-grossing films in the United States for the following weekend. To compare his forecasts to the actual results, he started posting the weekend grosses and wrote a regular column with box-office analysis. In 1999, he started to post the Friday daily box-office grosses, sourced from Exhibitor Relations, so that they were publicly available online on Saturdays and posted the Sunday weekend estimates on Sundays. Along with the weekend grosses, he was publishing the daily grosses, release schedules, and other charts, such as all-time charts, international box-office charts, genre charts, and actor and director charts. The site gradually expanded to include weekend charts going b ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagion began around September and led to the Wall Street stock market crash of October 24 (Black Thursday). It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. Between 1929 and 1932, worldwide gross domestic product (GDP) fell by an estimated 15%. By comparison, worldwide GDP fell by less than 1% from 2008 to 2009 during the Great Recession. Some economies started to recover by the mid-1930s. However, in many countries, the negative effects of the Great Depression lasted until the beginning of World War II. Devastating effects were seen in both rich and poor countries with falling personal income, prices, tax revenues, and profits. International trade fell by more than 50%, unemployment in the U.S. rose to 23% and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and one of the most prestigious and highly ranked universities in the world. The university is composed of ten academic faculties plus Harvard Radcliffe Institute. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences offers study in a wide range of undergraduate and graduate academic disciplines, and other faculties offer only graduate degrees, including professional degrees. Harvard has three main campuses: the Cambridge campus centered on Harvard Yard; an adjoining campus immediately across Charles River in the Allston neighborhood of Boston; and the medical campus in Boston's Longwood Medical Area. Harvard's endowment is valued at $50.9 billion, making it the wealthiest academic institution in the world. Endowment inco ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Jim Crow Laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the South had adopted laws, beginning in the late 19th century, banning discrimination in public accommodations and voting. Southern laws were enacted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by white Southern Democrat-dominated state legislatures to disenfranchise and remove political and economic gains made by African Americans during the Reconstruction era. Jim Crow laws were enforced until 1965. In practice, Jim Crow laws mandated racial segregation in all public facilities in the states of the former Confederate States of America and in some others, beginning in the 1870s. Jim Crow laws were upheld in 1896 in the case of ''Plessy vs. Ferguson'', in which the Supreme Court laid out its "separate but equal" legal doctrine concerning faciliti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelicalism. The present denomination was founded in 1968 in Dallas, Texas, by union of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church. The UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley in England, as well as the Great Awakening in the United States. As such, the church's theological orientation is decidedly Wesleyan. It embraces liturgical worship, holiness, and evangelical elements. The United Methodist Church has a connectional polity, a typical feature of a number of Methodist denominations. It is organized into conferences. The highest level is called the General Conference and is the only organization which may speak officially for the UMC. The church is a member of the World Council of C ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Methodist Episcopal Church, South
The Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MEC, S; also Methodist Episcopal Church South) was the American Methodist denomination resulting from the 19th-century split over the issue of slavery in the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC). Disagreement on this issue had been increasing in strength for decades between churches of the Northern and Southern United States; in 1845 it resulted in a schism at the General Conference of the MEC held in Louisville, Kentucky. This body maintained its own polity for nearly 100 years until the formation in 1939 of the Methodist Church, uniting the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, with the older Methodist Episcopal Church and much of the Methodist Protestant Church, which had separated from Methodist Episcopal Church in 1828. The Methodist Church in turn merged in 1968 with the Evangelical United Brethren Church to form the United Methodist Church, now one of the largest and most widely spread Christian denominations in America. In 1940, some more ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Melvin B
Melvin is a masculine given name and surname, likely a variant of Melville and a descendant of the French surname de Maleuin and the later Melwin. It may alternatively be spelled as Melvyn or, in Welsh, Melfyn and the name Melivinia or Melva may be used a feminine form. Of Norman French origin, originally Malleville, which translates to "bad town," it likely made its way into usage in Scotland as a result of the Norman conquest of England. It came into use as a given name as early as the 19th century, in English-speaking populations. As a name Given name Academics *Melvin Calvin (1911–1997), American chemist who discovered the Calvin cycle *Melvin Day (1923–2016), New Zealand artist and art historian *Melvin Hochster (born 1943), American mathematician *Melvin Konner (born 1946), Professor of Anthropology *Melvin Schwartz (1932–2006), American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1988 * Melvin Alvah Traylor, Jr. (1915–2008), American ornithologist Busines ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Jermaine Williams
Jermaine Charles Williams is an American actor, producer, and dancer. He dances for the Norwood Kids Foundation. He is from Rialto, California. He is best known for his role as Mush Mouth in ''Fat Albert'' and Noel in ''Stomp the Yard''. He appeared in the spoof film ''The Comebacks'' as iPod. He co-starred as Coleman "The Slaw" Galloway in the Disney Channel Original Series ''The Jersey ''The Jersey'' is an American comedy television series based on the '' Monday Night Football Club'' books by Gordon Korman. The series aired on Disney Channel from January 30, 1999, to March 23, 2004. Premise Nick Lighter, Morgan Hudson, Colem ...''. Filmography References External links * Living people American male dancers African-American male dancers African-American male actors American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors Place of birth missing (living people) 1982 births 21st-century African-American people 20th-century Afr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Gina Ravera
Gina Ravera is an American actress. She has appeared in the films ''Showgirls'' (1995), ''Soul Food'' (1997), '' Kiss the Girls'' (1997), and ''The Great Debaters'' (2007). She co-starred as detective Irene Daniels in the TNT crime drama series ''The Closer'' (2005-2009). Life and career Ravera was born in San Francisco, California. She is of mixed African-American and Puerto Rican heritage. She is a classically trained dancer. In the early 1990s, Ravera began appearing in guest-starring roles on television shows, including ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', ''Melrose Place'', and '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. During 1993-94, she was a cast member of the CBS crime series ''Silk Stalkings''. In films, she had a starring role in the 1995 erotic drama ''Showgirls'', directed by Paul Verhoeven, and in 1997 appeared in the comedy-drama ''Soul Food''. Ravera later went to television, appearing in TV films of the week and in series guest roles and regular roles. She was a regular c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
American Legacy
''American Legacy'' is a quarterly magazine that covers the subjects of African-American history and culture. The magazine is headquartered in Mount Vernon, New York and was founded in 1995 by Rodney J. Reynolds as a joint venture with Forbes Inc. The first issue was released in 1996. The magazine is published by RJR Communications, Inc. which became the full owner of the magazine in January 2009. The 2007 motion picture ''The Great Debaters'' was based on an article about the Wiley College 1935 debate team that appeared in the Spring 1997 issue. As of 2007, the magazine had circulation of 500,000, 80 percent of which was free distribution via schools, black church The black church (sometimes termed Black Christianity or African American Christianity) is the faith and body of Christian congregations and denominations in the United States that minister predominantly to African Americans, as well as their ...es, and other organizations. References External linksOfficial we ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Debate
Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, academic institutions, debate halls, coffeehouses, competitions, and legislative assemblies. Debate has also been conducted for educational and recreational purposes, usually associated with educational establishments and debating societies. These debates put an emphasis upon logical consistency, factual accuracy, and emotional appeal to an audience. Modern forms of competitive debate also include rules for participants to discuss and decide upon the framework of the debate (how the debate will be judged). History Debating in various forms has a long history and can be traced back to the philosophical and political debates of Ancient Greece, such as Athenian democracy or Shastrartha in Ancient India. Modern forms of debating and the es ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |