Walk the Walk 2017

Celebrate the contributions of African-American artists featured in the museum's collection.

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To commemorate the life of Dr. King, the Notre Dame family is invited to a Candlelight Prayer Service on Monday, Jan. 16. Post-event (complimentary) late-night breakfast at South Dining Hall.

Russell Lovell ’66 will share his journey from growing up in conservative western Nebraska to becoming president of the Young Republicans at Notre Dame, and later an NAACP civil rights lawyer, including the catalyst role his Notre Dame experience played in forging his civil rights/public service commitment.

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Russell Lovell '66, professor emeritus of law, Drake University, will reflect on forty years of legal advocacy to promote racial justice at the workplace.

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Founded by Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson (two esteemed alumni of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater), Complexions delivers exciting, genre-bending performances that transcend traditions and blur the boundaries of ballet and contemporary dance.

African Drumming and Dance Celebration. For the third year, a few of our community’s leading artists will close the King Week tribute immediately following the performance by Complexions.

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Founded by Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson (two esteemed alumni of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater), Complexions delivers exciting, genre-bending performances that transcend traditions and blur the boundaries of ballet and contemporary dance.

African Drumming and Dance Celebration. For the third year, a few of our community’s leading artists will close the King Week tribute immediately following the performance by Complexions.

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Presented by the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, "Moonlight" is the tender, heartbreaking story of a young man’s struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality.

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The second annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Luncheon, sponsored by the President’s Office and the Oversight Committee on Diversity and Inclusion, is an opportunity for campus-wide conversation. The luncheon program will feature remarks by Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., and a conversation with Judge Ann Claire Williams, Notre Dame alumna and trustee, with Luis Fraga, co-director, Institute for Latino Studies and professor of political science, as convener. Join students, faculty and staff at this free but ticketed event, as together we ask, "What's your next step?"

Additional free tickets are now available for the luncheon. Tickets can be picked up at the LaFortune Box Office from Friday, Jan. 20 to Sunday, Jan. 22, while supplies last. Box Office hours are 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. A Notre Dame ID is required for pickup.

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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.  Please note that North Dining Hall will have limited seating due to construction.

Explore photographs of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and critical moments of the civil rights movement. The photographs reflect the activists’ 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 given 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.

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The talk will be on the topic of RAPtivism — a project that explores the ways culture can contribute to efforts for universal freedom and justice. The RAPtivism hip-hop project is changing lives in 10 different countries and four continents. Aisha Fukishima has both a domestic and worldwide audience. Sponsored by Multicultural Student Programs and Services, the Gender Relations Center, and Notre Dame Community Relations.

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This is a two-hour interactive program that promotes campus community and gives participants an opportunity to meet other staff, share their personal diversity-and-inclusion experiences as well as brainstorm ways to make Notre Dame more welcoming and inclusive for all. The program includes brief presentations from the University's employee resource groups (ERGs) and an opportunity to sign up for the groups you are interested in.

Facilitator: Eric Love, director of staff diversity and inclusion

We all have important parts to play in realizing King's dream of more just communities and a more just country. This fair gives students a chance to see the various ways in which they can be involved in the local community while they are at Notre Dame.

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Panelists will share insights from Dr. King's speech, "Where Do We Go From Here," offer reflections and analyze voting trends from the 2016 election, and provide thoughts on the future. The program will also include a question-and-answer period.

Panelists: Timothy Matovina, co-director Institute for Latino Studies and professor of theology; Christina Wolbrecht, director, Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy and associate professor of political science

Co-chairs of the event: Dianne Pinderhughes, chair, Department of Africana Studies and professor of political science; Luis Fraga, co-director Institute for Latino Studies and professor of political science

Co-sponsors: Institute for Latino Studies and Department of Africana Studies

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Join us for a Fireside Chat with Celeste Volz Ford, founder and CEO of Stellar Solutions and General Ellen Pawlikowski, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. This event is open to faculty, staff, and students. Reception to follow. 

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Poet, essayist and playwright Claudia Rankine, joined by poet Solmaz Sharif, will deliver a reading. This event commemorates Notre Dame faculty member, poet and scholar Ernest Sandeen.

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