"The 1931 Wildcat" - Wiley College Yearbook

About the Project

Help us transcribe this 1931 edition of HBCU Wiley College’s yearbook, “The Wildcat” and get to know the faculty and students while learning about the types of clubs and organizations they participated in. Among these students was Henrietta Bell Wells, the first female member of the Wiley College debate team and a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Bell Wells made history by participating in the first college debate between white and African American students in 1930. This yearbook belonged to her. The Wiley College debate team defeated some of the top teams in the country and won a national title in 1935.

Read More: The Wiley College debate team was the inspiration for the movie The Great Debaters, which starred Denzel Washington as coach Melvin B. Tolson. Over a 15-year period, Melvin B. Tolson’s debate teams lost only one of 75 debates. Wiley's Forensic Society competed against historically black colleges and earned national attention with its 1935 debate against the University of Southern California. The Wiley College Debate Team is now also known as the Melvin B. Tolson/Denzel Washington Forensics Society of Wiley College. The “Great Debaters” of 2014 won the Pi Kappa Delta Comprehensive National Tournament. Not only was it the first national speech and debate title won by an HBCU, another moral victory was won. During Melvin B. Tolson's tenure, Wiley College had not been permitted to join the national forensics fraternity, Pi Kappa Delta, or to participate in its national convention or national championship. In 2017, Wiley College led the establishment of the first HBCU National Speech and Debate League and in 2018, Wiley hosted the first HBCU National Speech and Debate League Tournament.

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