Dressed in professional attire, two teams, the juniors versus the seniors, assembled on stage. One by one, students walked to the podium with three minutes on the clock to deliver provocative and emotional speeches delving into controversial issues of social inequality, racial identity, and ethnic pride.

On Feb. 23, after three weeks of preparation, students from the debate team at Samuel Gompers High School in Mott Haven held their first Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois debate titled, “Imperialistic Names Divide Us,” in honor of Black History Month, at Bronx Community College inside the Parthenon-style Gould Memorial Auditorium.

The juniors argued against imperialistic names — terms and categories imposed on cultures as a result of imperialism and colonialism — saying these terms fuel racism, ignorance and even genocide.

The seniors, on the other hand, presented the benefits of using these names, reminding the audience of the importance of cultural pride, primarily focusing on the Latino experience.

The debaters are part of the College Now program, a collaboration between the city’s Department of Education and the City University of New York, which prepares high school students for college. College Now participants at Samuel Gompers take advanced placement classes in History and Government and engage in regular debates in the classroom.

But on Feb. 23, they hit the bigger stage at BCC.

Defending the use of imperialistic names, Maria Hidalgo, a senior, argued in favor of reclaiming the term “Hispanic” because the name serves as a source of pride. “I would rather die as [a Hispanic] in order to keep my name,” she said.

A member of the junior team, Joel Labron, argued against imperialistic names, referring to Christopher Columbus who colonized the island of Borinquen and named the people Puerto Ricans. “Do [Puerto Ricans] even know their own identity?” Labron asked.

Donte Page, a member of the senior team, asked, “How dare you try and make people feel ashamed and forget the accomplishments of our forefathers?”

Arthur Papovich, representing the juniors, referred to the emotional scene in the novel “Roots,” when the character Kunta Kinte refuses to call himself by another name. “Who is whipping you?” Papovich asked the senior team.

The debate was organized by Raymond Mathews, a history teacher at Samuel Gompers, junior captain Ana Basilis, and senior co-captains Barbara Diaz and Juan Alcantara.