That got me thinking, what if they had?
The Governor’s Trophy follows four college debaters in 1956 Texas as a historic tournament forces them to confront segregation, political pressure, and the courage required to argue for justice. What drew you to the idea of using a college debate tournament as the center of a civil rights-era historical novel?
A year ago, I read a bio of Barbara Jordan and found out she was a national champion debater. Debate has been a big part of my life since I was in high school and college in the 1960s. Maridell Fryar is responsible, as she was my debate coach.
I also knew Mrs. Fryar was a very good college debater in Texas during the same years as Barbara Jordan. I sent her an email. She was getting ready for her 90th birthday, but she answered quickly, “No, we were not allowed to debate black teams.”
That got me thinking, what if they had?
The story literally came to me. Most of the real events fit nicely with the timeline and narrative.
Barbara Jordan is such a towering historical figure. How did you balance portraying her early promise with keeping the story focused on the full ensemble of students?
Fortunately, I was writing about a 20-year-old with a gift for debate and persuasion. And not the towering historical figure she became. I wrote all four debaters as the 20-year-olds—they were.
Besides Barbara, the other three had incredible lives, too.
Maridell and Wretha are not just witnesses to history, they become participants in it. What was important to you in shaping their moral journey?
I met Maridell when I was 16—64 years ago. I didn’t have to shape her moral journey.
I had no idea who Wretha was when I started the story. The more I learned about her, the more interesting she became. In her case, her moral journey was easy to trace once I knew how her story ended. Wretha died in 2013 at 77.
Following Wretha’s life back 57 years, to when she was 20. It was a roadmap showing that her moral compass had already begun to form.
What do you hope modern readers take away from this story about courage, fairness, and the power of words?
That’s a good question, but you’ve already got the answer. Let me turn it around for you. I hope the modern reader uses the power of words to debate what fairness and courage are in our world today.
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In 1956, the Texas Collegiate Debate Championship will be held, with the winner receiving the Governor’s Trophy. Forty teams will compete, and for the first time, a team of African American students, Barbara Jordan and Otis King, from Houston’s Texas Southern University, will compete against white colleges in the tournament.
One of the white colleges competing is Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene. Two twenty-year-old girls, Maridell Fisher and Wretha Whittle, are the highest-ranked girls’ team in Texas.
Texas Governor Allan Shivers is not happy. The Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. The Governor is determined to ignore the Supreme Court ruling and eliminate Texas Southern University from competition.
During a time of racial strife, when conversations focus on social justice, equality, and freedom, can four twenty-year-old college debate students defeat the years of racial bigotry led by a three-term sitting Governor?
Posted on June 24, 2026, in Interviews and tagged author, book, book recommendations, book review, Book Reviews, book shelf, bookblogger, books, books to read, ebook, fiction, goodreads, historical fiction, indie author, kindle, kobo, literature, nook, novel, read, reader, reading, science fiction, story, Terry L. Broxson, The Governor's Trophy, writer, writing. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.
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