Let's get this out in the open: Not all white people are evil. Not all white people hate black people. The majority of them actually don't, and most will argue--with varying degrees of course--for the rights of blacks, if said rights are violated in some way. HOWEVER, as sympathetic or empathetic to the plight of blacks as they may be, the plain and simple, undeni-able truth is that NO white person will EVER understand what it means to BE black in a culture where racism still exists, more than four hundred years after the two races initially collided. Until and unless you are reincarnated in the body of a black person and have heard the word "nigger" uttered to you by someone you've never met while casually strolling down a street minding your own business...until you've had a bottle thrown at you from a moving car by complete strangers for no reason other than the simple color of your skin...until you've been told that you're "the nice black person"(which is even more of an insult, in some ways, than having the N-word thrown at you), then you have forfeited your right to speak on a subject you know nothing about.

     Yes, things have improved for the plight of the African-American over the past several decades...but given the amount of flat-out ignorace still present in our society(and the sometimes diabolical impulses carried to fruition because of them), there is still a need for films such as The Great Debat-ers to be made.

     The Great Debaters tells the story of a team of students from Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, who in 1935 became the first black students to ever debate--and more importantly

--defeat a white debate team. Formal debate is the sport of intelligence; not just anyone can do it, and it takes a keen mind to speak either for the Affirmative of a subject or argue for the Negative viewpoint. In the Jim Crow 1930's South--Crow being the 100% bullshit law of "separate but equal"--it was especially important for an all-black team to prove they were not only intellectually equal to their white counterparts, but superior in the art of debate. This not only went to show how unjust Jim Crow was, it also served as inspiration for other blacks to take pride in themselves, and later go on to press the Civil Rights Movement into being.

     Instructing the team in the film is teacher Melvin B. Tolson, played by Denzel Washington, who dusted off his director's cap(only prior directing credit: 2002's Antwone Fisher) for this Oprah-produced tale. Tolson is an intelligent man, a passion-ate man, and a prideful man who not only wants to see his team succeed, but is also secretly respected by many of the whites around him for his intelligence...in the dark of night, Tolson instructs destitute sharecroppers on how to unionize like their cousins up North.

     Tolson's group is a fairly eclectic one: there is Henry Lowe(Nate Parker), a brash young man of formidable intelligence who often acts before using his noggin. James Farmer Jr.(Denzel Whitaker, no relation to co-star Forest), the shy son of Tolson's teaching peer Dr. James Farmer Sr.(Forest Whit-aker). Hamilton Burgess(Jermaine Williams), another great intellect who doesn't fully agree with all of Tolson's political views, and Samantha Booke(Jurnee Smollett), an obvious mulatto mix, who seems not always fully at ease among the darker-hued Negros around her. Tolson screens each of the forty-plus students in his class thoroughly before accepting them to his team, and pares it down to the quartet. It is these four whom he chooses to impart his wisdom to, so that they can become not only great academics and debaters, but better people as well.

     While some of The Great Debaters moves along familiar territory--it's set in the '30's South, so of course we hear the familiar pejoratives to describe black folk, along with a lynch-ing and other threats of violence--the story for the most part is exactingly thought out and engaging, and the characters are multi-layered. Henry is almost unrelentingly prideful to the point of self-absorption, which initially makes him a bit of a jerk, so naturally Samantha falls for him. This in turn hurts James Jr., who age-wise is the baby of the group but is genu-inely taken with Samantha. During a heated argument, James does have the nerve to tell Samantha "being your friend hurts", which is as true a moment for any "nice guy" out there as it is when earlier in the film, James approaches Samantha and Henry while at a dance and she unintentionally shoots him a "Don't talk to me, not interested" look. It's quick, it's subtle...but real, and calls to attention Denzel's excellent direction of his actors.

     The film is a masterfully directed piece, and is Washing-ton's redemption for appearing in the astoundingly overrated American Gangster. His performers come from a varied back-ground of film and television, and are thus well-experienced, but in Washington's hands, each achieves a new career high note. The interplay between each actor in virtually every scene--whether a tense face-off between James Sr. and good ol' boy Sheriff Dozier(Prison Break's John Heard) over Tol-son's unlawful imprisonment, or a sharp-tongued exchange between James Sr. and Tolson himself over what's best for James Jr., every actor convincingly inhabits their character, and every mark is hit spot-on. There's even a scene later on between Henry and Samantha, wherein she shows him just what she thinks of his behavior on a certain matter, that sent a ripple of applause through my screening audience. It's honest, well-timed, and when it arrives, you'll applaud as well. Guaranteed.

     Naturally, since Debaters is "based on" a true story, the film does take some liberties with actual history. Wiley College never debated or defeated Harvard...this is a myth started by '36-'39 team member Benjamin Bell, for reasons unknown, and unfortunately corroborated by Miss Henrietta Bell(no relation), upon whom the character Samantha Booke is based. Although no one can say for certain, it's believed the actual school defeated was either the University of Southern California or Oxford University of England. In the devil's advocate role, however, one must suppose that Oprah and Denzel chose to include the Harvard "fact" due to the name recognition/prestige factor.

     This is a somewhat pardonable sin however, since The Great Debaters works on so many other levels. Aside from the amazing performances which abound within the feature, and the film itself being a stirring tribute to the historical courage of a few youths, Debaters is the type of film which needs to be seen by as large an audience as possible. With the ever-degrading culture of black youth in this country--the overabundance of hip-hop and nonsensical idiocy of gangsta violence--young and often impressionable blacks need to see a film where violence isn't always used to solve problems, and young people must use their brains and their words to exist on a day-to-day basis. Whites(and all other cultures as well) should see it in order to glean at least some understanding of what it was we as a people had to endure...not to mention the rousing speech made by James Jr. at the end, which to this modern day would serve as a laudable reminder of the dan-gers of pressing a people too far to the ground. Unfortunate-ly, based on the fact Debaters hasn't even made it into the top ten box office draws during its opening bow, the chances that it will catch fire and spark some timely debate are few.

     How far we still have to go.

     And this, imdb poster "FeverDog", is the answer to your question: You'll have to be "subjected" to this type of bold, moral, uplifting tale, as many times as is necessary...until such a film isn't necessary anymore.