Contact UsSite MapHome Page
 
Our HistoryCommunity WorkBFHSENDIDebate at Emory
 
 
Value of Debate GA Speaker of the Year Prominent Alumni Bill Newman Melissa Wade UDL
 
 
  Future DirectionsBenefits for KidsLarry MossCarol WinklerGrant History
  Info Request UDLInfo Request VoluteersJr. High AtlantaOther Cities
 
 
  Emory University Home Page  
   
 
 
   
   
   
 
Debate at Emory Today
 
 

The Atlanta Urban Debate League began in the mid-1980s in an effort to provide educational opportunity not being made available to students in the regular inner-city classroom. The vision of the original program was to teach students how to debate in order to improve motivation, academic skills, and educational opportunity. The original program, funded in part by Phillips Petroleum Company and the National Forensic League, began by offering summer workshop programs and a small series of debate tournaments for high schools in the Atlanta Public School and Decatur City School systems.

The goals of the early program were simple: Discover if an interest for Urban Debate exists in inner-city schools. Encourage student participation and teacher training. Attempt to institutionalize support for debate in the Atlanta Public Schools and among parents. Encourage transitions from Urban Debate League tournaments to traditional tournaments held in the city, the state, the southeast and the nation. Determine if debate improves academic interest, decreases alienation and improve conflicts resolution skills.

Our goals met with overwhelming success. Yearly, over 300 high school students from the Atlanta and Decatur City Schools regularly participate at weekly tournaments throughout metro Atlanta and the state of Georgia. These students compete successfully in tournaments with students from suburban, public, and private schools throughout the state.

In the last few years, the Urban Debate League has begun to influence tournament competition locally and nationally, in high school and in college. UDL students have qualified for the National Forensics League national championship tournament in debate and other speech events. UDL students have increasingly participated in intercollegiate debate finding success in the elimination rounds at college national championships. Several early UDL students have gone on to seek advanced degrees and become debate coaches at the secondary and collegiate levels.

A significant number of teachers in the Atlanta area have enthusiastically embraced debate despite the demands placed on their own time. And the public school system has increasingly supported the development and growth of the Urban Debate League. All of the schools offer an academic class in debate and forensics as part of the regular curriculum. Parental enthusiasm has been impressive as they watch their children develop increasing self-confidence in tournament competition.

Preliminary evidence confirms that participation in academic competitive debate improves academic skills, increases interest and confidence in advanced degrees, improves understanding of people from different socioeconomic backgrounds, and improves conflict resolution.

In 1995, the Barkley Forum began a second urban debate initiate, the Junior High School Debate League. At the encouragement of those who worked closely with the Urban Debate League from the Atlanta Public School System, the middle school program was forged. A league which began with twenty middle school students in August, 1995 had over 200 participants at tournaments held the following January. The middle school program became a runaway success and is now bringing more experienced debaters into the existing high school debate programs.

"Sixth, seventh, and eighth graders are not old enough to secure summer employment, but they are old enough to join gangs. By increasing our offerings of summer training programs to younger participants, it became our goal to ‘hook’ them on educational competition. Other goals include enhancing the existing high school debate community in the Urban Debate League by allowing them teaching and mentoring opportunities for the younger participants, and offering an activity that would counter the alienation encountered in their educational settings."

Melissa Maxcy Wade

The success of the program has led to the creation of Urban Debate Leagues in many cities throughout the nation. The success of the program in Georgia, and its growth nationally, would not be possible were it not for the strong support exhibited by the Georgia High School debate community. The Atlanta Public Schools supports it teachers and the students who choose to participate in debate. The Georgia High School Debate Coaches Association and numerous public and private high schools in the area offered use of facilities and provided invaluable support to begin the UDL in Atlanta. This effort culminated in 2001 in the first National Urban Debate League Round Robin, to be hosted every other year by Pace Academy in Atlanta, Georgia with the support of Fuqua Industries. The Round Robin features the top Urban Debate League teams from cities around the nation. For information about Urban Debate Leagues in other cities, click here.

The Urban Debate Leagues are established, but there is much work left to be done. For information on the Future Directions of the Urban Debate League, click here.
  Back to Top