The University of Notre Dame will celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by hosting two of the co-founders of Black Lives Matter to give a lecture on “race relations in America and how their activism from the fringes became the national movement it is today, galvanizing individuals to stand up and together against state violence, police brutality and social injustice plaguing our country.”
According to the university website, Black Lives Matter co-founders Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi will give a lecture on MLK Day titled, “Black Lives Matter: The Hashtag Behind the New Civil Rights Movement.”
Ms. Cullors was one of the Black Lives Matter activists who stormed the stage while Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley was speaking at an event last July. Just last month, she tweeted praise for former Black Panther leader Fred Hampton, calling him “father” and claiming to “honor” him. Cullors has also said that it is her goal for the police system to be “destroyed” and police officers sent to “undoing racism camps.”
Nevertheless, the university claims that, “Both speakers work to promote healing, restorative justice, residual care and longing for dignity.”
The university website also stated that “#BlackLivesMatter has turned attention to the troubling disconnect between law enforcement and the black community, driving nationwide protests on a scale not seen in a half-century.”
The lecture will be co-sponsored by seven different university departments or organizations, including the gender relations center, the division of student affairs, student government, and the department of Africana studies.
The Daily Caller reached out to Notre Dame to ask what the total cost for the lecture will be, but the university did not respond by publication time.
The lecture will take place as part of the Catholic university’s “Walk the Walk Week,” which is meant to “reflect on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and encourage dialogue about diversity and inclusion,” and will kick off with a “midnight march” led by university president Father John I. Jenkins.
“We at Notre Dame must participate in and learn from the ongoing national and even global conversation on diversity and inclusion,” Father Jenkins is quoted as saying. “Perhaps most importantly, I hope we will use this occasion to reflect on the values that are so central both to Dr. King’s legacy and to Notre Dame’s mission.”
As reported by TheDC earlier this week, Notre Dame will also be bringing back the university’s White Privilege Seminar for the second year in a row.
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