Civil Rights Movement // The Observer

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‘It was never about a dream’: NAACP president and CEO speaks at Notre Dame Black excellence celebration dinner

Bella Laufenberg | Thursday, January 26, 2023

On Thursday evening, hundreds of Notre Dame students, staff and faculty weathered the northern Indiana winter to gather in the Morris Inn Smith Ballroom. From the other side of the nation, president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Derrick Johnson and other activists traveled to join them. Together, they

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Notre Dame commemorates MLK, racial justice with Walk the Walk Week

Bella Laufenberg | Wednesday, January 18, 2023

On July 21, 1964, political peacemaker and then-University president Fr. Theodore Hesburgh joined hands with Martin Luther King, Jr. after an impromptu address to crowds at a civil rights rally in Chicago. Hesburgh and King, standing side-by-side and hand-in-hand, sang “We shall overcome,” originally a gospel song that had since been adopted as an anthem

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Coretta Scott King: A multidimensional activist

Grace Sullivan | Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Monday marked the 37th year the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has been celebrated as a national holiday. Dr. King’s commitment to overarching equality initiated a monumental fight towards racial justice that will never be forgotten. As an activist that fought to end all forms of oppression, MLK’s work has extended far beyond

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Walk the Walk Week celebrates MLK Day, brings civil rights leader to campus

Renee Pierson | Friday, January 17, 2020

Notre Dame’s annual Walk the Walk Week, an event week honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Day and aimed at promoting diversity and inclusion on campus, will commence Monday. Civil rights leader Diane Nash will deliver the keynote address of Walk the Walk Week’s flagship event, the MLK Celebration Luncheon. The week will also include lectures,

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Madness prevails 50 years after King

Gary Caruso | Friday, April 6, 2018

In an era of instant connectivity, we seem not to seek answers. In an age of plenty, we cherish greed. In a time when our nation is rapidly changing most of its demographics, we seek a return to an earlier time remembered as great. Without a time machine that could return us to a life

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Author discusses storytelling, violence against black women

Gina Twardosz | Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Danielle McGuire, author of ‘At the Dark End of the Street,’ spoke at Saint Mary’s on Thursday night about the power of historical storytelling. McGuire said her research into the stories and narratives of the Civil Rights Movement led her discover a common thread of sexually-motivated violence against black women. “What I found was that even

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Activist reflects on civil rights movement experience

Selena Ponio | Wednesday, March 8, 2017

American civil rights activist Diane Nash — who led the first successful campaign to desegregate lunch counters, was a part of the Selma voting rights movement and co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee — shared her personal experiences with racism and her integral efforts in the civil rights movement Tuesday. Nash was first exposed to the full extent of

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Speaker addresses justice, Martin Luther King, Jr. legacy

Martha Reilly | Thursday, January 19, 2017

Diversity and Inclusion Officer for the city of South Bend, Christina Brooks, spoke at Mass on Wednesday night in Le Mans Hall, instructing students to remain vocal about issues that concern them if they want to make valuable change in their communities. “If your voice is missing, the revolution doesn’t take place,” she said. “Justice doesn’t

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Professor explores racial movements

Jenna Wilson | Friday, February 19, 2016

Is there a difference between the civil rights movement and the Black Lives Matter movement? Is it one intergenerational movement? These are the questions students gathered to answer in a roundtable discussion Thursday in LaFortune Student Center. The conversation, part of a Black History Month discussion series, was sponsored by Multicultural Peace, Equality and Community

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Photojournalist presents civil rights work

Madison Riehle | Friday, September 25, 2015

Silhouetted against the image of Martin Luther King Jr. on the cover of last year’s Time Magazine, photojournalist Dan Budnik took the stage at Annenberg Auditorium last night to share his experiences as a civil rights photographer and insights behind some of the movement’s most famous moments during a lecture titled “Marching to the Freedom

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