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Article: Movie to feature Wiley College historic debate team
- Article from:
- Westside Gazette
- Article date:
- December 20, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright The Gazette Newspaper Group Dec 20-Dec 26, 2007. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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The history behind Denzel, Oprah & Forrest Whitaker's new film
It is not every day that Denzel Washington and Oprah Winfrey do a movie together about a Historically Black College with fewer than 1,000 students.
But that's what happened when the pair learned about a David and Goliath match up in which Wiley College's 1935 debate team won a national championship against Harvard University and also beat other perennial oratorical powerhouses.
In 2004, the United Methodist-related college in Marshall, Tex., began to receive inquiries from Hollywood about Melvin B. Toison, leader of Wiley's first debate team.
"We started getting calls and researching ourselves for them," said Veronica Clark, ...