Black College Pinning Hopes On Film Buzz

Great Debaters brings spotlight to Wiley, which hopes money follows
By Lucas Laursen,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 5, 2007 1:17 PM CST
Black College Pinning Hopes On Film Buzz
Actor Denzel Washington, center, walks with Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, right, as the two tour a set from Washington's new movie "The Great Debaters," inside the Wang Theatre, in Boston, Friday, July 20, 2007. Patrick signed into law Friday a bill designed to bring more filmmaking to Massachusetts...   (Associated Press)

Wiley College may be on the ropes, but the historically black Texas school is betting that being on screen will turn things around. Staff face unpaid furloughs, limited office supplies, and the college hasn’t fielded a debate team in years. But The Great Debaters is already changing that—enrollment is up, the campus has been renovated, and Wal-Mart has endowed a scholarship.

The film, directed by and starring Denzel Washington and produced by Oprah Winfrey, is inspired by the success of Wiley College's debating team against white competitors in the 1930s. The contributions of Wiley's alumni to racial integration might have caused its downfall, as faculty and students flocked to mainstream institutions; but administrators expect film buzz will help them break even in 2008. (More Denzel Washington stories.)

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