Great debaters, huge debaters. In 1935, the southern states of the United States still adhered to the laws established since the 1870s that enforced racial segregation or discrimination against African Americans - African Americans were deprived of voting rights and suffered brutal segregation and discrimination in various aspects such as schools, neighborhoods, public transportation, public places, employment, judiciary, military service, and marriage. Marvin Tolson (Denzel Washington) was an outstanding poet and also a teacher at an obscure all-black college in East Texas. Marvin believed in unity and also in the power of language. Thus, in his spare time, he secretly organized the Tenant Farmers Union to fight against unfair oppression, while deciding to establish the first debate team at the black college. Under his careful selection, four students stood out - Hamilton Burgess, Henry Lowe, female Samantha, and James Farmer Jr., who was only 14 years old. Marvin believed: debating is like battle, it's about using words as weapons...
Starring Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Jurnee Smollett.