The Los Angeles Urban Debate League, run by my good friend David Wiltz, has been in the news lately thanks to a new documentary about the world of high school debate that highlights two of his former students. Here’s a good summary from the article:
“In the film, the team of Richard Funches and Louis Blackwell, who are black and now former students of the inner-city North Long Beach high school, stick out. They stand out in an activity where few of the high-powered teams, mostly from private schools, have black members.
The documentary shows the Jordan pair – who after becoming state champs have since graduated and gone on to compete in college – trying to change the style of debate by speaking more slowly and drawing on personal experiences during arguments, instead of relying just on research by experts.”
I’m obviously looking forward to seeing this film, but I imagine it will be of interest to those of you who aren’t familiar with academic debate, as well. It’s very different, in many ways, from what you would expect, and it will be especially interesting to see how David and his kids attempt to expose the race and class disparities that permeate the activity.