Nigel Shoyoye '25 and Chuka Okwumabua '25 are among the newest alums of the prestigious yearlong Harvard Debate Council Diversity Project (HDCDP)! These two Wildcats finished the program with a two-week residency at Harvard over the summer.

The Harvard Diversity Project is a nationally acclaimed program that recruits Black youth in Atlanta to train and matriculate into Harvard’s summer residency on full scholarships. The team is led by Brandon P. Fleming, Harvard's assistant debate coach.

Students on the team spend 10 months prepping for the debate tournament and two weeks in a Harvard Debate Council residency during the summer.

Students are introduced to debate through the exploration of academic disciplines that foster critical thinking, philosophical research and analysis, public speaking, knowledge of foreign affairs, and argumentation. After matriculation, cohort members complete intensives and are recognized as HDCDP Alumni. They then spend 2 weeks in Cambridge,  MA in the Harvard Debate Public Forum Summer Residency  Program. 

This year, Chuka placed within the top 8 debaters and Nigel within the top 16, among over 200 global participants.

Hamilton Henderson '25 was selected as a member of the 2023 HDCDP cohort and will compete in Cambridge next summer.

In July 2020, Christian Flournoy '23 made history by becoming the youngest African American male to ever win Harvard's annual international debate tournament.