The Trojan Debate Squad will travel to Texas this week for a rematch of a famous 1935 debate between USC and Wiley College that inspired the 2007 movie “The Great Debaters,” starring Denzel Washington. Held during an era of segregation, Wiley College beat defending national champion USC to become the first historically black college to win the national championship. (Read the Daily Trojan article from 1935 announcing the debate. In the movie, Wiley College debates against Harvard instead of USC.) "Long before education was desegregated, USC and Wiley demonstrated that the best educational environment is when all students have the ability to learn together," said Gordon Stables, USC's director of Debate & Forensics. Wiley College President and CEO Dr. Haywood L. Strickland said in a school announcement that Wiley College and USC first met in a country divided by a color line. "I am proud that all these years later, these schools will meet in a country that celebrates differences, knows that skin color is no determinant of intelligence, and recognizes that we share a common humanity," Strickland said. USC students Clara Purk (International Relations, Global Communication minor '14) and Maria Mohammad (Civil Engineering '12) will compete against Wiley College debaters Chad Mossiman and Cary Chavis. "I'm really excited to be involved in this debate," Purk said. "I remember the first time I learned about this debate was when I saw ‘The Great Debaters' movie with my high school debate team, and it fascinated me to see the history behind debate teams across the country, and how much both our country and the debate community has evolved. It is going to be an amazing experience to be part of such a unique and historical debate." Chavis told the Longview News-Journal that it is an honor for the students involved in the 2012 version of the debate. "I look back at the movie in 1935, and these two schools that participated in this debate that lasted no longer than 30 minutes, before Dr. King and Rosa Parks, these two schools came together and united,” Chavis said. “As Wiley students, to know the shoulders we stand on, it is really humbling to be a part of this.” Stables said the Trojan Debate Squad is proud to have the opportunity to share the stage with Wiley College once again. "Debate provides a fantastic opportunity for students, as we can see from the original debate," Stables said. "Students in that debate went on to become significant features in the Civil Rights Movement as well as major figures in the Los Angeles legal community." The exhibition debate will be held Friday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. in Wiley College’s Julius S. Scott Sr. Chapel. Daily Trojan article from 1935 announcing debate