The Great Debaters

I love a good movie that makes me think. Find me that lights a fire in me and I'm rarin' to go! The Great Debaters was one of those movies. We saw it yesterday evening. Wow.

I took debate in high school. My reason at the time was because I had great difficulty being "me" in front of people. My vice would shake, I would sweat. I was very anxious. However, if I was acting, or being "someone else," performing, I was fine. At the ripe old age of 17 I knew I needed to become comfortable being "me" and delivering what God had placed inside of "me" without fear.

The Great Debaters brought back a lot of those memories however, more than that it stirred my passion for equality for women in the church. Yes, I am aware that the movie focused a lot on segregation and my heart ached as I saw the "whites only" signage and brutal, inhumane treatment of the black men and women in the movie. What a horrid yet trailblazing time to live in!

At one point, the young lady in the film was given the opportunity to participate in a debate Resolved: Black students should not be allowed in State Universities. The affirmative side painted a sad picture of unhappy black students in a place where they would be so unhappy because they were not wanted there... it was pathetic at best. The young man stated that though the day would more than likely come one day, sadly it would not be today. However, as this young woman stood to argue the negative, she spoke with such passion and conviction that if not today, when? She went on to declare that the time for equality was now.

I grabbed onto this and felt so strongly that this was for all people of color and for both genders. So many things were portrayed in the film that made me want to shout! Since the movie is new I won't spoil anything else... but it is a MUST see!