This year marks the fourth annual campus-wide observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Walk the Walk Week, a week-long series of University and department sponsored events designed to help us consider how we—both individually and collectively—might take an active role in making Notre Dame even more welcoming and inclusive. University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., and the President's Oversight Committee on Diversity and Inclusion invite you to participate in one of more fo the week's offerings. All are welcome!
This year, MLK Day falls on Monday, January 21. Our campus commemoration will begin with a candlelight prayer service in the Main Building Rotunda on Sunday, January 20. On Monday, January 21, we will mark MLK Day with a campus-wide luncheon and program in the Joyce Athletic and Convocation Center. Classes will be canceled midday to allow students, faculty and staff to come together for this special luncheon or gather in the campus dining halls for community-buliding.
Information about events being planned as part of Walk the Walk Week (January 20-26) can be found below. Please note that the list will continue to grow as more events are added between now and January.
Duncan Student Center
Throughout Walk the Walk Week, stop by Duncan Student Center for a self-guided tour of various artwork related to diversity and inclusion within the Notre Dame community. Art Walk includes both professional art installations and work by current undergraduate and graduate students. Pick up your Art Walk guide at the Welcome Desk on the south end of the first floor of Duncan Student Center during regular building hours.
Snite Museum of Art
Stop by to explore photographs of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and critical moments of the Civil Rights Movement. The photographs reflect the movement's participants’ struggle, courage, and hopefulness. Dr. King described this dynamic as having the faith “to rise from the fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope” in his October 1963 speech on the Notre Dame campus. Decades later these photographs continue to resonate with, in the words of Dr. King, “the challenges we face” in the ongoing pursuit of a more just society.
These works of art by celebrated photographers dedicated to recording history in the making - including Dan Budnik, Charles Moore, Moneta Sleet, and Ernest Withers, and others - will be on temporary view as part of the University's Walk the Walk Week events.
Campus-wide
Members of the Notre Dame community — students, faculty and staff — who are not able to attend the campus-wide luncheon at the Joyce Center are invited to gather with friends and colleagues for lunch in the campus dining halls to continue the day’s conversations. Lunch is complimentary from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with a Notre Dame ID.
Joyce Center, North Dome
The fourth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Luncheon, entitled A Call to Love: Bridging the Racial Divide, is sponsored by the Office of the President and the Oversight Committee on Diversity and Inclusion. A panel of students, faculty, and staff will reflect on diversity and inclusion at Notre Dame. Panelists will draw from their own experiences to discuss ways in which we, as members of the University community, can “walk the walk.” Join students, faculty, and staff at this free but ticketed event.
Faculty and staff will receive information regarding ticket distribution from their department leaders. Students will be able to pick up tickets at the LaFortune Box Office during the week of January 14. There will be shuttles available for transportation to/from the luncheon.
Montgomery Auditorium, LaFortune Student Center
Multicultural Student Programs and Services presents Opal Tometi, a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement for a professional development session for faculty and staff. Tometi is a millennial trailblazer, known for her contributions to modern day social movements. She is currently featured in the Smithsonian's National Museum for African American History and Culture for her work.
1030 Jenkins Nanovic Halls
Dianne Pinderhughes, Darren Davis, Ricardo Ramírez, and David Cortez from the Department of Political Science will discuss how identity politics for whites, African Americans, Latinos, and other ethnoracial groups are manifested in the U.S. politics of today and the foreseeable future. Questions and comments from the audience are welcome. Event presented by the Institute for Latino Studies and Africana Studies.
102 DeBartolo Hall
Multicultural Student Programs and Services presents Opal Tometi, a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement for a keynote speech with time for questions and answer. Tometi is a millennial trailblazer, known for her contributions to modern day social movements. She is currently featured in the Smithsonian's National Museum for African American History and Culture for her work. This event is open to Notre Dame faculty, staff, students, and the general public.
Duncan Student Center
Throughout Walk the Walk Week, stop by Duncan Student Center for a self-guided tour of various artwork related to diversity and inclusion within the Notre Dame community. Art Walk includes both professional art installations and work by current undergraduate and graduate students. Pick up your Art Walk guide at the Welcome Desk on the south end of the first floor of Duncan Student Center during regular building hours.
Snite Museum of Art
Stop by to explore photographs of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and critical moments of the Civil Rights Movement. The photographs reflect the movement's participants’ struggle, courage, and hopefulness. Dr. King described this dynamic as having the faith “to rise from the fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope” in his October 1963 speech on the Notre Dame campus. Decades later these photographs continue to resonate with, in the words of Dr. King, “the challenges we face” in the ongoing pursuit of a more just society.
These works of art by celebrated photographers dedicated to recording history in the making - including Dan Budnik, Charles Moore, Moneta Sleet, and Ernest Withers, and others - will be on temporary view as part of the University's Walk the Walk Week events.
Montgomery Auditorium, LaFortune Student Center
Come watch the premiere of episode 3 of the YouTube series, Dome-ish. Confronted with stereotype threat and being called out of his name, Tone struggles with his response. Being overwhelmed with both frustration and hurt, Tone responds the only way he knows how at that moment.
After the episode, a group discussion will take place to examine the complexities and controversies surrounding the "N-word."
Coleman-Morse Lounge
Fr. Joe Corpora, C.S.C., recently spent one week working with immigrants and refugees in McAllen, Texas, at the Humanitarian Respite Center founded and directed by Sister Norma Pimentel, MJ. Sister Norma received Notre Dame's Laetare Medal at the 2018 Commencement Exercises. All are welcome.
Duncan Student Center
Throughout Walk the Walk Week, stop by Duncan Student Center for a self-guided tour of various artwork related to diversity and inclusion within the Notre Dame community. Art Walk includes both professional art installations and work by current undergraduate and graduate students. Pick up your Art Walk guide at the Welcome Desk on the south end of the first floor of Duncan Student Center during regular building hours.
Snite Museum of Art
Stop by to explore photographs of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and critical moments of the Civil Rights Movement. The photographs reflect the movement's participants’ struggle, courage, and hopefulness. Dr. King described this dynamic as having the faith “to rise from the fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope” in his October 1963 speech on the Notre Dame campus. Decades later these photographs continue to resonate with, in the words of Dr. King, “the challenges we face” in the ongoing pursuit of a more just society.
These works of art by celebrated photographers dedicated to recording history in the making - including Dan Budnik, Charles Moore, Moneta Sleet, and Ernest Withers, and others - will be on temporary view as part of the University's Walk the Walk Week events.
Dahnke Ballroom, Duncan Student Center
Martin Luther King, Jr., said, "Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve." Students and faculty who want to find their path to service and civic engagement in South Bend are encouraged to encounter the more than 50 local organizations who will invite you into their work. Meet local social service organizations who can tell you about volunteering and community-engaged learning/research opportunities, governmental and nonprofit agencies who will share employment and internship opportunities, and arts/entertainment organizations who will help you celebrate South Bend.
106 Duncan Student Center
Please join us as we celebrate the new professional art installation, Prevalence: Sacred Traces by Juan Sanchez, within the Duncan Student Center, which was created specifically to celebrate diversity within the Notre Dame community. After providing brief remarks, Juan Sanchez will be available to answer questions while guests interact with their artwork. Light hors d'oeuvres will be served.
Duncan Student Center
Throughout Walk the Walk Week, stop by Duncan Student Center for a self-guided tour of various artwork related to diversity and inclusion within the Notre Dame community. Art Walk includes both professional art installations and work by current undergraduate and graduate students. Pick up your Art Walk guide at the Welcome Desk on the south end of the first floor of Duncan Student Center during regular building hours.
Snite Museum of Art
Stop by to explore photographs of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and critical moments of the Civil Rights Movement. The photographs reflect the movement's participants’ struggle, courage, and hopefulness. Dr. King described this dynamic as having the faith “to rise from the fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope” in his October 1963 speech on the Notre Dame campus. Decades later these photographs continue to resonate with, in the words of Dr. King, “the challenges we face” in the ongoing pursuit of a more just society.
These works of art by celebrated photographers dedicated to recording history in the making - including Dan Budnik, Charles Moore, Moneta Sleet, and Ernest Withers, and others - will be on temporary view as part of the University's Walk the Walk Week events.
Monogram Room, Joyce Center
The Unity Summit is an interactive event utilizing small group dialogue to network, build community and explore ways to make Notre Dame more inclusive. Co-sponsored by the Employee Resource Groups, this promises to be a highly impactful experience for all.
Basilica of the Sacred Heart
Rev. Peter McCormick, C.S.C. will preside over the Mass for Peace and Unity and Deacon Mel Tardy will preach. All are welcome.
Remick Commons, Visitation Hall
Panelists Trebor Goodall, Senior and President of BSA; Khalid Kareem, Junior and defensive lineman on the football team; and Jalen Elliott, Junior and defensive back on the football team will explore often unfounded initial perceptions of others through a discussion on the intertwinement of athletics and educational access. Eric Love, Director of Staff Diversity and Inclusion, will serve as the moderator for this panel. All are welcome. Dinner will be provided by LaEsperanza.
This event is sponsored by Student Government, MSPS, BSA, the Alliance for Catholic Education, Diversity Council, Wabruda, Shades of Ebony, and the Notre Dame Student Athlete Advisory Council.
Click here for a message from the students who are directly involved in this event!
210 Duncan Student Center
Please join us as we celebrate the new professional art installation, Edifice by Ralph Helmick, within the Duncan Student Center, which was created specifically to celebrate diversity within the Notre Dame community. After providing brief remarks, Ralph Helmick will be available to answer questions while guests interact with their artwork. Light hors d'oeuvres will be served.
Snite Museum of Art
Stop by to explore photographs of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and critical moments of the Civil Rights Movement. The photographs reflect the movement's participants’ struggle, courage, and hopefulness. Dr. King described this dynamic as having the faith “to rise from the fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope” in his October 1963 speech on the Notre Dame campus. Decades later these photographs continue to resonate with, in the words of Dr. King, “the challenges we face” in the ongoing pursuit of a more just society.
These works of art by celebrated photographers dedicated to recording history in the making - including Dan Budnik, Charles Moore, Moneta Sleet, and Ernest Withers, and others - will be on temporary view as part of the University's Walk the Walk Week events.
Duncan Student Center
Throughout Walk the Walk Week, stop by Duncan Student Center for a self-guided tour of various artwork related to diversity and inclusion within the Notre Dame community. Art Walk includes both professional art installations and work by current undergraduate and graduate students. Pick up your Art Walk guide at the Welcome Desk on the south end of the first floor of Duncan Student Center during regular building hours.
Auditorium, Hesburgh Center for International Studies
Join the Mediation Program of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies for an important conversation on confronting whiteness, power, identity, and exclusion at Notre Dame. Panelists from across campus and the South Bend community will discuss their experiences and their ideas for enhancing justice, equality, and dignity.
Panelists include:
The event will also provide a forum for campus and South Bend organizers and activists for peace and justice to promote their work and encourage others to join them. This event is co-sponsored by the Kroc Institute Mediation Program, the Keough School of Global Affairs.
Snite Museum of Art
Stop by to explore photographs of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and critical moments of the Civil Rights Movement. The photographs reflect the movement's participants’ struggle, courage, and hopefulness. Dr. King described this dynamic as having the faith “to rise from the fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope” in his October 1963 speech on the Notre Dame campus. Decades later these photographs continue to resonate with, in the words of Dr. King, “the challenges we face” in the ongoing pursuit of a more just society.
These works of art by celebrated photographers dedicated to recording history in the making - including Dan Budnik, Charles Moore, Moneta Sleet, and Ernest Withers, and others - will be on temporary view as part of the University's Walk the Walk Week events.
Duncan Student Center
Throughout Walk the Walk Week, stop by Duncan Student Center for a self-guided tour of various artwork related to diversity and inclusion within the Notre Dame community. Art Walk includes both professional art installations and work by current undergraduate and graduate students. Pick up your Art Walk guide at the Welcome Desk on the south end of the first floor of Duncan Student Center during regular building hours.
Browning Cinema, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
The latest Spike Lee joint is a biopic of one cop who led one of the most fantastic crime cases in American history. Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) became the first African-American detective to serve in the Colorado Springs Police Department in the 1970s. Determined to make a name for himself, Stallworth sets his sights on a dangerous mission: infiltrate and expose the revitalizing Ku Klux Klan.
The young detective soon recruits a more seasoned colleague, Flip Zimmerman (Mishawaka’s own Adam Driver), into the undercover investigation. Together, they team up to take down the extremist hate group as the organization aims to sanitize its violent rhetoric to appeal to the mainstream, a makeover whose relevance to the current revitalization of the Klan and similar groups is heard not through dog whistles but through Lee’s bullhorn.
Browning Cinema, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
The latest Spike Lee joint is a biopic of one cop who led one of the most fantastic crime cases in American history. Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) became the first African-American detective to serve in the Colorado Springs Police Department in the 1970s. Determined to make a name for himself, Stallworth sets his sights on a dangerous mission: infiltrate and expose the revitalizing Ku Klux Klan.
The young detective soon recruits a more seasoned colleague, Flip Zimmerman (Mishawaka’s own Adam Driver), into the undercover investigation. Together, they team up to take down the extremist hate group as the organization aims to sanitize its violent rhetoric to appeal to the mainstream, a makeover whose relevance to the current revitalization of the Klan and similar groups is heard not through dog whistles but through Lee’s bullhorn.
Leighton Concert Hall, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
This performance, led by Kelly Morgan and master African drummer James Riley ’94, celebrates wholeness, joy, purpose, and life. This event extends the community celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and joins the University of Notre Dame’s observance, Walk the Walk Week.
Duncan Student Center
Throughout Walk the Walk Week, stop by Duncan Student Center for a self-guided tour of various artwork related to diversity and inclusion within the Notre Dame community. Art Walk includes both professional art installations and work by current undergraduate and graduate students. Pick up your Art Walk guide at the Welcome Desk on the south end of the first floor of Duncan Student Center during regular building hours.
The third annual Walk the Walk Week began with the candlelight prayer service in the Main Building rotunda. The event closed Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on campus while kicking off a week of events designed to foster dialogue and reflection on making Notre Dame a more inclusive community.
Former student body president, Corey Robinson, interviewed his father, former NBA Hall of Famer and philanthropist, David Robinson, in a fireside chat format. They explored the family’s motivations for service and shared insights on how they have both worked to serve their communities to make a difference.
Students, faculty and staff at the University of Notre Dame answer the question "What are you doing to advance Dr. King's legacy on campus?" as part of Walk the Walk Week 2018.
