Wiley College, Home of The Great Debaters, Plans to Start an HBCU League of Its Own

You probably know, by now, that a small black liberal arts college 150 miles east of Dallas once boasted the best debate team in the nation.The story of that 1935 Wiley College squad toppling the national champs from the University of Southern Cal was the focus of a 2007 movie, The Great Debaters, starring Denzel Washington, who also directed the flick.If you haven't seen it, grab some popcorn and resolve to check it out. You might recognize one famous Texan in the movie, Longview native Forest Whitaker.Anyway, what you probably don't know is that since Washington seeded the college $1 million -- $100,000 a year for 10 years -- to resuscitate its forensics team in 2008, Wiley has been busily writing a new script.  Continue reading...