Competitive policy debate, an activity touted to train political leaders and civic participants, is mired in conflict over the rise of Black student participation. Diversity outreach efforts in the 1990s offered an opportunity to increase black participation significantly in the activity. These efforts at inclusion generated racial turbulence as Black students brought black theory, performance and culture to the fore as the grounding for their argumentative strategies. While the scholarship about Black activism in policy debate has focused on the reaction of the traditionalists attempting to protect the norms of competition, it is simultaneously salient to analyze white liberal and progressive responses to the disruption caused by Black debaters. Drawing on the themes of civility and mutual recognition, I encourage argument theorists to consider how the structure of anti-blackness offers a fundamental antagonism to interracial debate and deliberation. This article delves into a racialized conflict between two teams who were part of a broad-based coalition of debaters disrupting normative argumentative and performative practice in debate competitions, arguing that violating the norms of competition and standards of civility represents a necessary strategy for Black folks arguing about anti-black racism in the interracial context of competitive debate.