WILLIAMSBURG — The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is partnering with the Richmond Forum Speech & Debate Initiative and Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP to host Virginia’s first Revolutionary Rhetoric Speech & Debate Invitational Oct. 10-12.
Top students from across the commonwealth will step back in time to debate and speak on topics related to Virginia’s role in establishing America’s independence in the historic buildings that housed those same debates 250 years ago.
Topics could include boycotting British goods, the formation of independent militias, and Virginia’s participation in the First Continental Congress, according to the foundation.
“There is incredible power in place, which is why Colonial Williamsburg has spent nearly a century preserving the spaces and stories connected to the birth of American democracy,” said Cliff Fleet, president and CEO of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (CWF). “We hope that Revolutionary Rhetoric provides students with the unique opportunity to experience the past in the present, ultimately inspiring them to apply what they learn to the future.”
The tournament will consist of five events in some of Colonial Williamsburg’s most iconic historic structures:
- Student Congress: Students emulate members of the United States Congress by authoring and debating pieces of legislation, including bills and resolutions.
- Original Oratory: Students deliver a self-written, memorized speech on a topic of their choosing.
- Declamation: Students deliver a portion or portions of a speech previously delivered.
- Poetry: Students perform one or more pieces of poetry written by another author.
- Program Oral Interpretation: Using selections from Prose, Poetry, and Drama, students create a 10-minute performance around a central theme.
All mock legislation and selected pieces must relate to events, real or imagined, that would have occurred between 1770 and 1775, CWF said. The cornerstone student congress competition will be held in the Capitol building and additional events will take place in the Public Gaol, the Raleigh Tavern, and the Benjamin Powell House.
“The American Revolution was inspired by discussions and debates that took place in Colonial Williamsburg 250 years ago,” said Heather Crislip, executive director of the Richmond Forum. “The memories of those formative times remain alive today to inspire new generations and encourage new debates about how best to strive for a more perfect union. This October, with Colonial Williamsburg, the Richmond Forum Speech & Debate Initiative will host promising high school students to debate as our founders did, fulfilling our promise that the future will learn from the past.”
The invitational is sponsored by Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP.
