The 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech

Good Morning and welcome to our first block day of the 2013-2014 school year.  Incredibly, today happens to be the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream" speech.  Given our discussion of social justice, this couldn't have come at a better time.  

Before we begin discussing the impact of his speech, I wanted to show you a quick video that quickly highlights some interesting facts that you may not know about his speech and how it became famous.  You can view the video here.  After watching the video please do your best to respond to the following questions (please number your responses in your post):

1. What was the purpose of the March on Washington? 
2. What was the purpose of the keynote address delivered by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 
3. Why have the speech and the March on Washington become two of the most celebrated symbols of the Civil Rights era? 
4. Why did so many everyday citizens get involved in civil protest during the Civil Rights era? 
5. What, if anything, can encourage everyday citizens to get involved in the struggle for civil and human rights today? 
6. What connections can be made between the March on Washington, the “I Have a Dream” speech and current civil/human rights protests?

After you have finished responding to the questions, please don't post the blog yet. We are going to watch a few more video clips and I would like to ask for you to expand on your responses as we move through the class period today.

Thanks!