Denzel Washington and his family have just announced some exciting news for Wiley College in Texas.
The family recently announced that their foundation Denzel Washington Family Foundation will make installments toward a $1 million commitment.
The HBCU was originally founded in 1873 in Marshall Texas. The college is home of The Great Debaters – a team popularized in a 2007 film with the same name.
Washington served as director and starred as Professor Melvin B. Tolson – a debate coach who organized the team in the ’20s that led students to a decade-long winning streak in the ’30s.
In a statement shared to ESSENCE, Washington said, “Supporting the next generation of brilliant minds in the art of debate at Wiley College will open so many doors of opportunity for these students during college, career, and beyond.”
Adding, “We are honored to continue supporting the best and the brightest in the land and look forward to `The Great Debaters’ continuing to do what they do best: win.”
This donation will be used to recruit debate team members and provide the students with scholarships. In 2007, an initial $1 million commitment was made. The foundation has donated $100,000 annually over 10 years to revive the debate team after Tolson departed from the college in 1947.
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