"Imagine graduating from high school each year millions of underprivileged teenagers with the ability to articulate their needs, the needs of others, and the ability to offer solutions. I am convinced that someone would be forced to listen to them.” Ed Lee, Director of Debate, University of Alabama

*Please watch "BEYOND DEBATE"
(A short documentary on the urban debate project)

Vision Statement of the National Debate Project

At the heart of democracy is an ethic of civic
responsibility. Central to the fulfillment of that responsibility is the acquisition of debate and other civil advocacy skills. In the spirit of preparing future leaders who can both engage their communities and successfully advocate for their needs, we seek to extend the benefits of debate and advocacy training to traditionally underserved student and teacher
populations. The National Debate Project institutionalizes a collaborative infrastructure to facilitate the nationwide use of debate and discussion as acatalyst for educational reform. Scroll down for more:

Mission and History
The National Debate Project (NDP) works in the field of education reform, and its mission is to promote debate as a tool for empowering urban and rural youth living in America’s most socio-economically challenged communities.

The benefits of debate include skill development in critical thinking, public policy and values research, computer research proficiency, public speaking, advocacy, and conflict resolution. Because debate requires funding for computer access, research materials, travel to tournaments, and training at summer institutes, the primary population that has historically participated in competitive tournament debate can be characterized as white, male, and affluent. Committed to changing this demographic and using debate to nurture the potential for all children in our educational system, the Barkley Forum of Emory University founded the Urban Debate League (UDL) in 1985, in partnership with Atlanta Public Schools. The Barkley Forum, which houses Emory’s intercollegiate debate team, communications training, academic forensics research, and community outreach programs, is a reflection of Emory’s deep, long-standing commitment to responsible civic discourse. By 1999, with the UDL’s having become a national education reform movement, the National Debate Project consortium was founded by Emory and Georgia State Universities, and was later joined by Clark Atlanta University, New York University, and Tennessee State University.

Inspired by the success of the nation’s first UDL, Barkley Forum alumni of Emory University founded the Glenn Pelham Memorial Fund, Inc. in 1987 for the express purpose of supporting debate outreach. The Fund supports all NDP projects and has successfully raised grant money from the Open Society Institute, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, The John H. and Wilhelmina D. Harland Charitable Foundation, Boys and Girls Club of Metropolitan Atlanta, The Wachovia Foundation, and the Governor’s Office of the State of Georgia, among others, making it possible for thousands of urban students to participate in debate.

The Open Society Institute formed a partnership with the Barkley Forum to replicate the Atlanta UDL model in New York City in 1995. The UDL has now become a national education reform movement that has ultimately benefited students, teachers, universities, and entire public school systems in 17 cities across the United States. There are currently UDLs in New York City, Baltimore, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, Detroit, Kansas City, St. Louis, St. Paul, Boston, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Northern New Jersey, Providence, RI, Dallas and Atlanta. The National Debate Project is currently shepherding the development of new UDLs in Miami, Milwaukee and Nashville. It is estimated that 25,000 at-risk youth have participated in UDL programs, of which the majority have gone on to college. Over 100 colleges and universities now recruit intercollegiate debaters in UDL populations with substantial scholarship support.

While the NDP serves as a consultant and advocate for other UDLs, the primary target population for NDP pilot programs and new initiatives has been Atlanta. Over its history, NDP programs have grown to include the Atlanta Urban Debate League, Emory National Debate Institute, Georgia Middle School Debate League, The Debate Center, Computer Assisted Debate Project, College and High School Bridge Programs, and Debate Across the Curriculum. Atlanta continues to serve as the national model for urban debate innovation and programming.

Major press coverage of the Urban Debate League movement and NDP projects has been featured in the New York Times, U.S. News and World Report, Seattle Times, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Teacher Magazine, Chronicle for Higher Education, Christian Science Monitor, web site for the White House, and on the CBS show 60 Minutes. In fact, Marvin Nesbitt, residential services administrator from the Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA), watched the 60 Minutes show featuring the Baltimore Urban Debate League, and was so inspired that he had a vision of introducing debate to AHA communities.
As inspired ideas bring the right people together, AHA was soon in conversation with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Atlanta, TechBridge, and the National Debate Project. The NDP was selected as the teaching, curriculum, and implementation partner for the Computer Assisted Debate Project, a pilot program for 100 at-risk youth living in AHA communities. In less than a year, the initiative had caught the attention of the White House and received a personal visit from First Lady Laura Bush in March, 2005 as an innovative program to empower at-risk children. Given proper support, the initiative could reach over 1,500 middle school students in Atlanta alone.

The NDP also supports a range of programs designed to connect different debate communities: secondary, intercollegiate, urban, suburban, and rural. Research and infrastructure planning are underway to develop rural outreach debate programs using distance learning, digital curriculum material, middle school league membership, and teacher training. The NDP was a major sponsor of the National Forensics League National Speech and Debate Tournament at Georgia State University in June, 2003 for over 2,500 secondary students from all 50 states. This program followed the National Debate Tournament, intercollegiate debating’s capstone event at Emory University in April, 2003. The Georgia Intercollegiate Debate Institute is a new NDP initiative that will begin in August, 2005 to provide intercollegiate debate training. The opening national intercollegiate tournament of the year has been hosted by Georgia State University for the last 4 years with NDP sponsorship, and used as a venue for instruction for secondary students in the UDL. Every other year the Fuqua National UDL tournament is hosted at Pace Academy, an NDP collaborative partner, in Atlanta. Area college debaters assist with the judging and instruction at that event. The conversation across the debate communities augments instruction, provides role models, and develops an ethic of civil engagement as more advanced students volunteer to assist with younger students in a variety of ways.

The NDP serves a population both in Atlanta and those coming to Atlanta from other states for programs that will reach over 2,000 students and teachers in the 2004-2005 school year.