civil rights movement

In honor of the Academy Awards this weekend, I want to present my own award for the Best Film With a Conscience of 2007. Amazingly, this Hollywood flick had big stars, TV promotion, an amazing story based on real events, and beautiful cinematography - and yet it did not receive a single Oscar nomination!

I'm speaking of The Great Debaters. Perhaps because of its association with Oprah Winfrey's production company, or maybe because of the sappy trailer depicting what seemed to be a heartwarming tale of overcoming simple adversity, most people never heard that this film actually tells several powerful and important stories about the challenges of addressing violence, racism, and classism in the Jim Crow era and today. Especially of interest to FOR supporters is the depiction of CORE co-founder James Farmer who was on the Wiley College Debate team led by poet, teacher, and community organizer Melvin Tolson (played by Denzel Washington).