Melvin B. Tolson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Melvin Beaunorus Tolson February 6, 1898 Moberly, Missouri, United States |
| Died | August 29, 1966 (aged 68) Dallas, Texas, United States |
| Burial place | Guthrie, Oklahoma |
| Alma mater | Lincoln University; Columbia University |
| Occupation | Poet |
Melvin Beaunorus Tolson (February 6, 1898 – August 29, 1966) was an American poet, educator, columnist, and politician. As a poet, he was influenced both by Modernism and the language and experiences of African Americans, and he was deeply influenced by his study of the Harlem Renaissance.[1]
As a debate coach at the historically black Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, Tolson led a team that pioneered interracial college debates against white colleges in the segregated South.[2] This work was depicted in the 2007 biopic The Great Debaters, produced by Oprah Winfrey, starring and directed by Denzel Washington as Tolson.[2][3]
- ^ Gold, David (2008). Rhetoric at the Margins. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, pp. 49–59.
- ^ a b Gold (2008), 43–49.
- ^ Beil, Gail. (2008). "Wiley's Great Debaters", Humanities Texas, February 2008.