Many historical films are based on true stories, but how many of them are historically accurate? The Great Debaters is based on the true story of an African-American debate team from Wiley college in the 1930s. While this is an extraordinary and inspirational film, it is full of historical inaccuracies. Wiley College is a Historically black college founded in 1873 in Marshall, Texas. This college was very small with only 400 students. Wiley college is one of the oldest black colleges that was not well known until the inception of the Wiley college debate team. This team was lead by Professor Tolson who was an African-American English professor, poet, journalist, and social activist. Tolson organized a debate team in 1924. The original name and Hamilton Boswell. Three of the four debaters were fictional characters. The film writers changed the debaters last names. Hamilton Boswell became “Hamilton Burgess”. Henry Heights became “Henry Lowe”. James farmer Jr. is the only real person that was portrayed in the movie. Henrietta Bell Wells known as Samantha Booke in the film, was the first female to try out for the debate team and became the first female member on the team. In the movie Henry and Samantha had a romantic relationship, but there is no evidence of that ever happening. When professor Tolson wasn’t teaching class, or teaching his debate team, in the evenings he would try to help unionize the local farmers and sharecroppers, a mixed-race partnership. Hamilton ended up leaving the debate team because of this and he felt that Tolson was a radical and a communist. His parents didn’t want him to be around someone like professor Tolson. Despite all of this Henry, Samantha, and James decided to stay on the debate team. Samantha and James were both alternates on the debate team. Tolson was accused of being active in organizing farm laborers and tenant farmers during the late 1930s. In the film he was arrested for these acts, but there is no evidence of what he actually did in his spare time or evidence of him ever being arrested for these accusations. Some of the scenarios portrayed in the movie are
he enduring debate is a book that was written by John J. Coleman. It outlines the issues and the existing readings in the history of American politics. The politics of America have been defined by a number of great articles from great philosophers. Some of the writers who wrote about the constitution in America include former presidents such as James Madison. Chapter 3 of the book talks about federalism. Federalism is a form of government that advocates for two or more units to contribute equally to the control of one geographical region. Federal government advocates for sharing of power between the central government and the other units of governance. The discussion below is the summary of the readings on federalism.
For almost two hundred years, Historically Black Colleges and Universities or HBCUs have played a pivotal role in the education of African-American people, and negro people internationally. These schools have provided the majority of black college graduates at the Graduate and Post-Graduate level; schools such as Hampton University, Morehouse University, Spellman University and Howard University are four universities at the forefront of the advanced education of blacks. For sometime there has been a discussion on whether or not these institutes should remain in existence or if they are just another form of racism. There were also concerning the quality of education provided at these institutions. In my opinion, from the evidence provided in our own world today, HBCUs are very important and significant in the education of black people throughout the nation, and are essential to our society.
Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, is not one of the most well-known presidents to have ever served in office though he did do some good things during his presidency. The vice president’s journey to the presidency began after the assassination of the beloved president, John F. Kennedy. Before serving as president, he was the youngest Senator to ever serve as a majority leader and he sat in the House of Representatives. Although Johnson served two terms as president, he only ran in one election because of the death of Kennedy. However, the one election he ran in, he won in by a landslide (Ridings & Melver 231). Lyndon B Johnson, the Democratic president, who served from 1963-1969, might have been infamous for the decisions he made during the Vietnam War, but his Great Society and Civil Rights Act helped shape the nation in a good way.
Jumping handcuffed from a third-story window at the Fulton County Pretrial Services in Atlanta, the man who leaped from the window fell head first and died. The 22-year-old man, Tyquan Devoun Richard was going to enter a drug intervention program at the Fulton County Superior Court at 10am when criminal law arrest him for a weapons charge.
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James has been the cause of many debates about whether or not the ghosts are real, or if this is a case of a woman with psychological disturbances causing her to fabricate the ghosts. The story is told in the first person narrative by the governess and is told only through her thoughts and perceptions, which makes it difficult to be certain that anything she says or sees is reliable. It starts out to be a simple ghost story, but as the story unfolds it becomes obvious that the governess has jumps to conclusions and makes wild assumptions without proof and that the supposed ghosts are products of her mental instability which was brought on by her love of her employer
Jake Olson is a blind long snapper for the University of Southern California Trojans. Jake was given a rare form of retinal cancer that took his sight as a child. Jake lost his left eye when he was 10 months old. The cancer forced doctors to remove his right eye when he was 12 years old. Playing for USC has been a lifelong dream for Jake and he never gave up that dream even after he became blind.
Most African-Americans agree that they have much to gain by earning a college degree. Most will also agree that this task is much easier said than done. Unfortunately, many African-Americans find that disparities in higher education eclipse their expectations of equal educational opportunity. For many, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are a great solution. Since the founding of Cheyney University in 1837, HBCUs have continually been established to give African-Americans an education as they could not attend other institutions due to segregation laws. HBCUs became more widespread in the 1960s with twenty-seven institutions being established, twenty-four of which still exist today among the 105 institutions. HBCUs play an important role in the education of African-Americans compared to other colleges and universities. They historically provided a way for African-Americans to receive an education that Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) did not allow, they offer an inclusive environment that fosters better academic and social adjustment, and their open admissions policy along with efforts to enhance retention rates gives African-American students from disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity for success.
“An outspoken Wiley College professor who boldly challenged the discriminatory Jim Crow laws of the 1930s, Tolson's recognizes that his young debate students possess the spark of a new generation. Convinced that they could invoke great change if given the confidence and tools needed to do so, the tireless educator implores his students to take responsibility for the future while furtively attempting to protect them from his clandestine role as an organizer for the Southern Tenant Farmers Union. Chief among Tolson's promising young students is a 14-year-old prodigy named James Farmer, Jr. Farmer's father, James Sr., is a renown...
Lynch, Ed.D. Matthew. "Historically Black Colleges and Universities Are Worth Saving." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 22 Sept. 2011. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.
During the Second Industrial Revolution two philosophies combated each other on a global scale. Laissez-Fair economics had ruled for the last few centuries and had created many prosperous nations but abuses of power by wealthy men had turned public opinion against it. Ever since its creation, Socialism begged to be placed head to head with Capitalism and it had finally gotten its chance. Laissez-Fair economics and Socialism both have their pros and cons when implemented in society. The battle between these two ideological works its way throughout society alternating between the protests and debates in the U.S. today to the great terror of the Cold War.
In this passage, the audience truly sees the meaning behind Herbert Kohl's message. His purpose for writing comes back to the fact that people interpret situations differently in every way. Kohl not only wanted to highlight the purpose behind wanting to learn something new but he also wanted readers to be aware that most time it does not come down to the inability of someone who doesn't want to learn but the real reason behind why they don't want to. People have different opinions on topics such as these but Kohl wanted to show that being able to want to stand up for your culture and the meanings behind it are rather important. Behind Kohl's purpose for writing, we see an insight into his past life relating to Wilfredo's. Kohl's reason for
Have you ever felt stuck? Wherever you are, it’s the absolute last place you want to be. In the book Into the Wild, Chris McCandless feels stuck just like the average everyday person may feel. Chris finds his escape plan to the situation and feels he will free himself by going off to the wild. I agree with the author that Chris McCandless wasn’t a crazy person, a sociopath, or an outcast because he got along with many people very well, but he did seem somewhat incompetent, even though he survived for quite some time.
Roebuck, Julian B., and Komanduri S. Murty. Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Their Place in American Higher Education. Westport: Praeger, 1993. Print.
“I always feel like somebody's watching me and I have no privacy.” These are the famous lyrics from one of Michael Jackson's hit songs Somebody’s Watching Me. Now, back when this song was created, there was not as much worry about people constantly being watched by cameras, but it seems to fit in the problem that my generation is facing. In the book 1984, written by George Orwell, the society is always being watched through a device called a telescreen. The main character, Winston, has trouble adjusting to the life of always being monitored, and the fact that if you made one mistake you could be tortured or killed. This book was made in the late 1940’s and was written to show what the predicted future would be like. Many people who have read
On June 13th, I participated in a Young Debaters Program with other students from our school competing against various junior high schools in a debate contest. I arrived too early, was wearing a far too casual dress, and was walking in extremely painful shoes. I had butterflies in my stomach and I felt terrible. The debate was absolutely awful, but the experiences I had with my friends during and after the debate were some of the most memorable occurrences of my 7th grade year.