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Duke Twitter Chat on 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington Tonight

The Duke community is invited to participate in the 8 p.m. chat

Several Duke faculty will participate in a live Twitter chat on the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington at 8 p.m. ET, Wednesday, Aug. 28.

The topic of the chat, economic injustice, is based on the theme of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963.

The Duke community and general public are invited to observe or pose questions using the hashtag #DukeChat. Tweeters can also use #MOW, a popular hashtag for discussing the historic March on Washington.

A mix of faculty with civil rights expertise, including historians, economists, filmmakers and public policy analysts, will discuss the march for jobs and freedom, King's enduring legacy and how far the country has progressed in the past 50 years. Among those participating will be Sandy Darity, the chair of Duke's African & African American Studies program, Luke Powery, the dean of Duke Chapel, and Wesley Hogan, the new director of the Center for Documentary Studies.

President Obama, joined by presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, is scheduled to deliver remarks marking the occasion Wednesday afternoon. Like King, Obama's speech will reportedly focus on the American economy.

King delivered a speech in Page Auditorium the year following the March on Washington. Each January, the university hosts a week-long commemoration honoring his legacy.

As in previous Duke Twitter chats, tweeters will offer respectful analysis and commentary in real time, creating a public classroom for members of the Duke community and beyond. Follow the chat here