James Farmer Jr.: We do what we have to do in order to do what we want to do.
Melvin B. Tolson: Who is the judge? Samantha, Henry Lowe, James Farmer Jr., Hamilton Burgess: The judge is God. Melvin B. Tolson: Why is he God? Samantha, Henry Lowe, James Farmer Jr., Hamilton Burgess: Because he decides who wins or loses. Not...
Samantha: The state is currently spending five times more for the education for a white child than it is fitting to educate a colored child. That means better textbooks for that child than for that child. I say that's a shame, but my opponent says to...
[Samantha just slapped Henry hard across the face] Melvin B. Tolson: Resolved.
Melvin B. Tolson: Anybody know who Willie Lynch was? Anybody? Raise your hand. No one? He was a vicious slave owner in the West Indies. The slave-masters in the colony of Virginia were having trouble controlling their slaves, so they sent for Mr. Lyn...
Henry Lowe: A brilliant young woman I know was asked once to support her argument in favor of social welfare. She named the most powerful source imaginable: the look in a mother's face when she cannot feed her children. Can you look that hungry child...
James Farmer Jr.: [opening package] Five dollars? Lowe, I got five dollars! Henry Lowe: Yeah, I did too. It's called per diem. Want me to hold it for you? James Farmer Jr.: No, not MY five dollars. Samantha: [walks into the room waving her money in t...
Melvin B. Tolson: I am here to help you to find, take back, and keep your righteous mind.
Melvin B. Tolson: We're holding tryouts for the debate team. Henry Lowe: You sure you want somebody like me? Melvin B. Tolson: No. That's why you're trying out.
James Farmer Jr.: We can't win without him! [Melvin Tolson] Samantha: You're wrong, we can't win without him. [as she tosses a book at Farmer] James Farmer Jr.: Thoreau?
Melvin B. Tolson: Denigrate. There's a word for you. From the Latin word "niger", to defame, to blacken. It's always there, isn't it? Even in the dictionary. Even in the speech of a Negro professor. Somehow, "black" is always equated with failure.
Samantha: [after James protests his inability to debate with Samantha or Henry] James, you're the best researcher I've ever seen. We couldn't do this without you. James Farmer Jr.: [angrily] Oh, there's PLENTY you do without me!
Ruth Tolson: [hands Tolson a letter] Here, this came. Go on, open it. Melvin B. Tolson: [noticing the broken seal] Hmm, looks like someone already opened it. Ruth Tolson: [smiling mischievously] Not me.
Dr. James Farmer, Sr.: [after Tolson is unjustly captured and imprisoned] Since you have no evidence, I suggest you let him go. Sheriff Dozier: Are you threatening me, boy? Dr. James Farmer, Sr.: No, sir. I wouldn't do that. But I cannot speak for th...
Samantha: James, you know I value your friendship... James Farmer Jr.: How can you value something you never had? Samantha: So... we were never friends? James Farmer Jr.: Maybe I don't want to be just your friend. Maybe it HURTS me to be just your fr...
Melvin B. Tolson: We'll be one of the first Negro colleges to ever debate a white college. If we beat them, we beat the best.
Harland Osbourne: This debate is stirring up a lot of excitement. It's going to be broadcast all over America.
