The Great Debaters: While Oprah did not star in this film, her company’s film division, Harpo Films, produced this classic based on the true story of Melvin B. Tolson, a professor at Wiley College Texas who in 1935 inspired his students to establish the HBCU’s first debate team. Denzel Washington leads the star cast of Nate Parker, Forest Whitaker and Jurnee Smollett-Bell.
