Weekly News Discussion Guide: August 31

Weekly News Discussion Guide: The March on Washington

Friday, August 28 marked the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic March on Washington. This year, thousands of people gathered at the National Mall to commemorate the historic march and call for an end to police violence against Black people. To learn more about the March on Washington, see NewsHour EXTRA lesson plans here, here, here and here. Watch the video and answer the discussion questions. To read the transcript of the video above, click here. 

More News from the Week of August 31

• In Kenosha, Wisconsin, where protesters gathered to demonstrate against the police killing of Jacob Blake, three people were shot and two killed by an armed teenager. In Portland, a man who was part of a right-wing group called Patriot Prayer was killed by an unidentified assailant after clashes with other protest groups.
• More students return to school across the country, with some school districts preparing for full, in-person learning, some districts all-remote, and some districts going with a hybrid of in-person and remote learning. Parents, teachers and students are all figuring out how to adapt to learning under COVID-19.
• Hurricane Laura battered the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Texas last week, and residents are still seeking aid. Meanwhile, authorities are concerned about environmental dangers following a chlorine fire and potential damage to refineries.
• The Republican National Convention wrapped up on Thursday with a renomination acceptance speech by President Donald Trump. The speech, along with other RNC speeches given over the week, emphasized law and order and the economy before COVID-19.
• Earlier this month, an enormous, deadly explosion leveled whole neighborhoods in the city of Beirut, Lebanon. Many blame government neglect of warehoused explosive materials. This week, a new prime minister is promising reforms.

Weekly News Discussion Guide: Discussion Questions

• Focus question: What similarities do you see between the civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King Jr. and today’s protest movements? What are the differences?
• Media literacy: What news item that you think is important is not discussed in this roundup? Why do you think it’s important?

Republished with permission from PBS NewsHour Extra.