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Article: Local alumni recall 'Great Debaters' teacher
- Article from:
- Oakland Tribune
- Article date:
- December 28, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2007 Oakland Tribune. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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SAN MATEO -- Many people are just now learning about Melvin B.
Tolson, the real-life figure at the center of "The Great Debaters,"
a new film directed by and starring Denzel Washington. Dr. James
Hutchinson was in Tolson's college English class.
Tolson, and the student debate team he coached to a national
championship, were already legends when Hutchinson arrived in 1939
at Wiley College, a small, all-black school in Marshall, Texas.
Hutchinson said Tolson was a charismatic and demanding teacher, a
"taskmaster" whose classes were nonetheless much sought after
because of his eloquence and the fame his debate team achieved in
1935 by defeating an all-white team from the University of ...