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The Challenges of Black Discourse Within Intercollegiate Policy Debate

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The Challenges of Black Discourse Within Intercollegiate Policy Debate University of Louisville ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository Electronic Theses and Dissertations 12-2014 Against the grain : the challenges of black discourse within intercollegiate policy debate. Tiffany Yvonne Dillard-Knox University of Louisville Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd Part of the Educational Sociology Commons, and the Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons Recommended Citation Dillard-Knox, Tiffany Yvonne, "Against the grain : the challenges of black discourse within intercollegiate policy debate." (2014). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2161. https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/2161 This Master's Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has retained all other copyrights. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AGAINST THE GRAIN: THE CHALLENGES OF BLACK DISCOURSE WITHIN INTERCOLLEGIATE POLICY DEBATE By Tiffany Yvonne Dillard-Knox B.A., University of Louisville, 2001 A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Louisville in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Department of Pan-African Studies University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky December 2014 Copyright 2014 by Tiffany Yvonne Dillard-Knox All rights reserved AGAINST THE GRAIN: THE CHALLENGES OF BLACK DISCOURSE WITHIN INTERCOLLEGIATE POLICY DEBATE By Tiffany Yvonne Dillard-Knox B.A., University of Louisville A Thesis Approved on June 16, 2014 by the following Thesis Committee: Thesis Director, Dr. Joy Carew Dr. Ricky Jones Dr. Margaret D‘Silva ii DEDICATION I would like to dedicate my thesis to my family. For without their patience, support and encouragement, I would not have successfully completed this project. To my parents, Larry and Dianne, you have always stressed the importance of education and hard work. I thank you for your continual encouragement and inspiration. To my siblings, Lad, La Tica, Justine, and Ron, I appreciate the four of you being there for me whenever I needed help. Thank you for being a part of the village that it takes to raise a child. Thank you doesn‘t begin to express my gratitude. To my husband, Corey, you are the best part-time single parent ever. Thank you for taking over the parenting, cooking, cleaning, and transportation during all of the times that I just had to keep writing. Without your support and patience, all of this would have been impossible. To my son, Demetrius, you are the most selfless teenager I know. You never once complained about the time I spent on this thesis. You pushed me to do more. You encouraged me every step of the way. You even helped out around the house when needed. You are my superstar and I am forever grateful to have you. Finally, I dedicate this thesis to the memory and spirit of Dr. J. Blaine Hudson. I made a promise to you that I intend to keep. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank my committee members for believing in me and helping me to develop as an academic, a writer, and a person. A special thanks to Dr. Joy Carew, my committee chair for the countless hours you spent reading, editing, discussing, learning and being very patient throughout this entire process. Thank you to Dr. Ricky Jones and Dr. Margaret D‘Silva for agreeing to serve on my committee. You are both two of my greatest mentors. I would like to thank my University of Louisville ―debate what‖ family, both past and present. You all are the most inspiring and dedicated group of people I know. Your perseverance and commitment to justice remind me of why I do what I do. I would like to acknowledge all of the Black debaters that came before me. What you accomplished and experienced will never be forgotten. iv ABSTRACT AGAINST THE GRAIN: THE CHALLENGES OF BLACK DISCOURSE WITHIN INTERCOLLEGIATE POLICY DEBATE Tiffany Y. Dillard-Knox June 16, 2014 This research uses the speech community model of analysis to illustrate how language is used to determine inclusion into and exclusion from Debate. This has been done by examining the use of four Black discourse types in Intercollegiate Policy Debate: signifying, call and response, tonal semantics, and narrative sequencing to show the ways in which current debate practices (un)intentionally exclude Blacks. Upon examination, one can see that there is educational value to the methods used by majority of the Black student population within Debate. In addition to being a tool of empowerment for this student population, these students can also provide the overall Debate community with alternative perspectives and values. These can be useful to all students‘ development as active citizens within an increasingly diverse American society. This analysis could provide important insight into the next phase of the debate about Debate. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION………………………………………………………………………….iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………………….iv ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………….v LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………...vii CHAPTER 1 CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS: The Value of Language Differences…………...1 2 DEBATE.................................................................................................................8 Policy Debate Format……………………………………………………10 The Research Process……………………………………………………14 Traditional Versus Alternative…………………………………………..15 3 FROM THEN TO NOW: BLACKS IN DEBATE……………………………..22 The Emergence of Urban Debate Leagues………………………………28 Current State of Blacks in Intercollegiate Policy Debate………………..30 4 THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE MALCOLM X DEBATE SOCIETY………………………………………………………..………………34 5 COMMUNITY OF DIFFERENCE……………………………………………..47 Debate as a Speech Community…………………………………………47 African American English……………………………………………….50 Black Discourse in Debate..…………………………….………….……54 Norms: The Flow, Speed, and Line by Line Refutation………………..55 Procedures: The Personalization of Debate and Topical Engagement…58 6 CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION…………..……………………………….71 REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………......75 APPENDICES…………………………………………………………………………...81 CURRICULUM VITAE…………………………………………………………………87 vi LIST OF TABLES TABLE A. Speech Order and Times……………………………………………………………11 vii CHAPTER I CLASH OF THE CIVILIZATIONS: The Value of Language Differences Debate can be conceived as a speech community, one that has the potential to be a model for educational empowerment of minority populations. Yet, Intercollegiate Policy Debate organizations have failed to capitalize on this potential. In recent years there has been an influx of Black students entering the ranks of Intercollegiate Policy Debate. Most of these students entered the Debate community utilizing new methods of debate that are different from the traditional methods. These new methods are derived from a set of Black discourse practices, values, and perspectives. Unfortunately, most of the members of the Intercollegiate Policy Debate community are unwilling or underprepared to fully understand the functionalities of these new methods. Nevertheless, these methods can be invaluable to the empowerment of this student population, as well as, the Debate community at large. Over the last few decades, there has been an increased focus on diversifying Debate in an effort to keep up with the levels of diversity on college campuses nationwide. However, there has been little consensus on what diversity means and how best to achieve it. The Debate community has focused on bringing in more students of color but the cultural environment of Debate is an important factor when considering how to best retain these populations. Therefore, there also needs to be an emphasis placed on ways to incorporate these new methods, values and perspectives. 1 Debate is one of the most formidable academic activities in which students can be involved. It is an academic training ground for public speaking, literacy and research skills, and understanding the process of policy making. Debate prepares students to become active citizens in society long after their educational career has ended. Students who participate in Intercollegiate Policy Debate have access to an extensive network of society‘s more prominent leaders and Debate alumni, such as, politicians, attorneys, business executives, and university administrators. Debate has also produced seven former Presidents of the United States: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Jimmy Carter. The skills acquired are invaluable to the long-term success of the students who participate in the activity. In the early twentieth century Debate was a feature of colleges and universities across the nation, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). According to John W. Parker (1955), Debate served as a ―laboratory of democratic living,‖ aiding students in the ―process of developing scholars and citizens for movement in a democratic society (p. 146).‖ HBCUs competed amongst themselves initially, with the debate between Atlanta Baptist College (now Morehouse College) and Talladega College marking the first one of its kind (Brawley, 1917). However, they were eventually given the opportunity to debate against the white universities. Debates, in general, and the interracial
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