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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?
The Governor’s Trophy
The Governor’s Trophy by Terry L. Broxson is a historical novel set in 1956 Texas, centered on a college debate tournament that becomes far bigger than a contest for a trophy. The story follows Barbara Jordan and Otis King of Texas Southern University, the first Black debate team invited to compete against white Texas colleges, and Maridell Fisher and Wretha Whittle of Hardin-Simmons University, two talented white debaters who find themselves standing at the edge of history. What begins as a competition over arguments, evidence, and speaker points turns into a sharp look at segregation, courage, fairness, and the people who either resist change or help make room for it.
I appreciated how Broxson uses debate as more than a setting. It becomes the engine of the story. Every conversation feels like a test of values, not just skill. The students are bright, funny, ambitious, and sometimes unsure of themselves in ways that make them feel human rather than symbolic. Barbara Jordan stands out, of course, with her confidence and force of mind, but the novel does not flatten the others around her. Maridell and Wretha are given space to learn, question, and act with integrity. It would have been easy for the book to turn them into simple observers of history, but instead, they become participants in it.
Broxson’s choices are direct, especially in the scenes involving Governor Allan Shivers and the political forces trying to control the outcome. The villains can feel painted in heavy strokes, but the approach fits the moral clarity of the story. This is not a quiet novel about subtle prejudice. It’s about systems that were built to exclude, and about young people walking into those systems with preparation, poise, and nerve. The historical details, from debate rules to campus life to road trips and cafeteria meals, give the book a grounded texture. I found those smaller moments especially effective because they let the larger themes breathe. A conversation over food can carry as much weight as a confrontation in a boardroom.
The Governor’s Trophy will appeal most to readers who enjoy civil rights stories, courtroom or debate-style drama, and novels that imagine the emotional truth behind real historical possibilities. I would recommend it to readers who like history told through character, especially those interested in education, public speaking, Texas history, or the early shaping of leaders like Barbara Jordan. It’s thoughtful, accessible, and sincere, with a clear belief that words matter, but only when people are brave enough to stand behind them.
Pages: 156 | ASIN: B0H4DZVJ44
