(ThyBlackMan.com) Like many high school students, Tyrin Johnson can be found glued to his phone late Friday evenings during the school year. However, listen closely to his conversation and it will reveal that the 11th grader is indeed a young man of purpose.
Debate, not sneakers or girls consumes Johnson during these late night conference calls with his coach and fellow debate team members from Plymouth Educational Center Preparatory High School in Detroit.
“We’re debate junkies,” said Desiree Fuller, an English teacher who coaches the debate team at Plymouth Prep. “Tyrin is the greatest captain ever because he always takes my call and he is always looking for ways to help improve our team.”
The late night talks are in fact highly constructive strategy sessions that routinely follow Friday evening debate competitions for the Plymouth Prep 
team. The Friday night discussions are even more impressive given that these same team members are often back in action early the next morning. And it is that type of dedication, which earned Plymouth Prep its second consecutive city title in the Detroit Urban Debate League this past season.
“I’m really proud of my team,” said Johnson, an honor roll student whose first exposure to debate came last season. Fuller, who was seeking outstanding speakers and committed students for the new team, viewed Johnson as an ideal recruit.
“Debate provides a good base to learn about policies and what’s going on in the world,” Johnson said. “It’s helped me with my grades and I may even debate in college.”
Debate has not only created a buzz among the 10 competing schools in the Detroit Urban Debate League, but the same excitement can be found across the country in places like Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Houston, just to name a few. In fact, Urban Debate Leagues currently exist in 24 of the nation’s largest cities.
And with participation in debate comes rewards. Research shows that Urban Debate Leagues have direct and life-changing benefits for the participating debaters including narrowing the academic achievement gap; encouraging college attendance; and preparing youth for success in a wide range of career paths.
“I think of life as debate,” said Rayvon Dean, a ninth grader at University Prep Academy in Detroit, who competed this year at the Urban Debate National Championship in New York.
“Once you get into it, it’s hard not to like it,” said Dean, who partnered with fellow University Prep freshman, Deja Valrie, at the national tournament, which was won by a team from University High School of Humanities out of Newark, N.J.
In Detroit, Dean and Valrie are part of an emerging high school debate scene in the Motor City. This season, 176 Detroit students participated in the Detroit Urban Debate League, up from 104 in 2010. Joining Dean and Valrie at the national tournament were Kwaishon Bell and Victor Houze representing Detroit’s Loyola High School, which advanced to the round of 16, despite competing against much more experienced teams.
The success of teams like Plymouth Prep, University Prep Academy and Loyola, along with the city’s continued rise on the state and national debate scene was celebrated on May 25 at Wayne State University’s Hilberry Theatre. Joining students, parents and educators, for the evening awards ceremony in midtown Detroit, was a collection of political and community leaders. These leaders have also come to appreciate the impact of high school debate in a city and nation working through an education crisis.
One of the proud smiling faces in attendance belonged to Dr. Jessie Kilgore Jr., Plymouth Educational Center’s superintendent of schools. A proud product of Detroit Public Schools, Kilgore earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and enrolled in law school at the University of Maryland. However, he determined that education, not law, was his passion and equipped with advanced degrees, he is on mission to inspire Detroit youth.
“It’s the in-thing at our high school to be on the debate team and I never thought I would see that happen in an urban school setting,” said Kilgore, who has instituted a variety of innovative programs to ignite the minds of his students.
“And the majority of our debate team are males. We often talk about the amount of discipline that comes with participating in athletics, but there’s an even greater sense of discipline with debate. These students average 12 hours of debate practice weekly, to go along with their academic studies.
“Many people think the added debate practice would make it more difficult for the students to keep up with their studies, but it’s really quite the opposite. The impact on our students has been incredible.”
Bell echoed Kilgore’s sentiments and added a few more superlatives during his welcome remarks, which kicked off the awards program: “Debate is pure, beautiful and golden.” With those words, Bell set the tone for an inspirational evening and continued success for Urban Debate Leagues across the country.
Staff Writer; Scott Talley
This talented journalist is owner of a public relations firm; Scott Talley & Associates, Inc….