Notre Dame celebrates Black History Month
Black History Month, observed annually in the United States during the month of February, provides an opportunity to reflect on the achievements, experiences and heritage of Black Americans. The University of Notre Dame will celebrate Black History Month with a variety of activities and resources.
ThinkND, an online learning community created by the Notre Dame Alumni Association, has curated a Black History Month Collection with stories that highlight the experiences, contributions and impact of Black students, alumni, faculty and the wider Notre Dame family. Featured content includes:
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“Building an Anti-Racist Vocabulary Podcast: The Use and Misuse of Civil Rights History” (presented by the Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights)
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“Stereotypes, Representation and Real Talk: Black Law Students Speak Out” (The DEI Podcast with Max Gaston, presented by Notre Dame Law School)
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“Black Domers: The Future of Social Justice” (presented by the Black Alumni of Notre Dame and the University of Notre Dame Alumni Association)
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Maquette for Wing Generator (a sculpture by Richard Hunt, presented by The Raclin Murphy Museum of Art)
The campus community is also invited to take part in a number of events to be held throughout the month, including:
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Feb. 6: Women’s basketball game, 8:30 p.m., Purcell Pavilion
As part of its ongoing Together Irish commitments, Notre Dame Athletics will recognize Black History Month during the women’s basketball game between Notre Dame and Stanford University. During the game, Athletics will celebrate recipients of Student Government’s Black Excellence Awards, which honors students, faculty and staff who exemplify excellence, impact on the Black community and the values of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Feb. 13-15: Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat (2024), times vary, Browning Cinema, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
Director Johan Grimonprez captures the moment when African politics and American jazz collided in this essay film that illuminates the political machinations behind the 1961 assassination of Congo's leader Patrice Lumumba.
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Feb. 14: BSA Awards, 7 to 9:30 p.m., Washington Hall auditorium
The Black Student Association presents the BSA Awards, featuring performances from across campus, a fashion show and a red carpet followed by a catered reception in the Center for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (second floor of LaFortune Student Center). Students, faculty and staff will receive nominations and awards in various categories throughout the night. - Feb. 15: A Tribute to Motown, 7:30 p.m., Leighton Concert Hall, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
This concert of Motown music features hits sung by vocalists and backed by a band known for bringing the Motor City sound to life. The catalog includes legends like Stevie, Teena Marie, Smokey, The Isley Brothers, the Temptations and hits written by Ashford and Simpson. The DJ set begins at 7:30 p.m., and the concert starts at 8 p.m. This event is part of the DeBartolo Performing Art Center Presenting Series’ Cultural Collective, programming supporting equitable artistic development in the community.
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Feb. 19: Sojourner Truth Keynote Address: How Anti-Racism Lost the Popular Vote: Race, Performance and the Idea of America, 5:30 to 7 p.m., Room 300 O’Shaughnessy Hall
The Initiative on Race and Resilience’s third annual Sojourner Truth Keynote Address will feature Harvey Young, dean of the College of Fine Arts at Boston University and professor of English, theater arts and African-American and Black diaspora studies.
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Feb. 19: Men’s basketball game, 7 p.m., Purcell Pavilion
As part of its ongoing Together Irish commitments, Notre Dame Athletics will recognize Black History Month during the men’s basketball game between Notre Dame and Southern Methodist University. The game will also highlight the work the University has done, and will continue to do, to foster more extensive collaborations and strengthen the community.
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Feb. 20: Legendary Karaoke presented by the Black Faculty and Staff Association, 5 to 8 p.m., Legend’s Night Club
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Feb. 21: A Welcome and Celebration of the Initiative on Race and Resilience 2025 Artist in Residence: Brendan Fernandes, 5:30 to 7 p.m., Room 300 O’Shaughnessy Hall
All are welcome to meet Brendan Fernandes, a multidisciplinary artist who is at the forefront of the discussion about the hybridity of identity, interrogating the social and political concerns of marginalized communities, and examining the body's role in human expression. This residency is made possible with the additional collaboration of the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art and the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.
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Feb. 22: Lakecia Benjamin, 7:30 p.m., Leighton Concert Hall, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
Native New Yorker Lakecia Benjamin is a saxophonist and bandleader, recognized as the Rising Star Alto Saxophonist in the 2020 Downbeat Critics Poll and the Up and Coming Artist of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association. She has had tour dates with Rashied Ali, Christian McBride, Gregory Porter and James “Blood” Ulmer. Additionally, Benjamin’s expertise as an arranger and horn section leader has been sought after by acclaimed artists such as Anita Baker. Benjamin’s quintet was selected to debut in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and act as clinicians for the 2025 Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival.
- Feb. 23: Live Podcast Recording: The Black Myth Podcast, 4 to 6 p.m., Browning Cinema, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
The Black Myth Podcast is an informative, conversational show analyzing popular myths about Black culture of a sociopolitical nature. The cast will be live-recording an episode in the Browning Cinema and opening the doors for everyone to check out the process. The episode will explore the themes of the 1988 drama film “Lean on Me,” with a focus on debunking the ideas of tough love, tough on crime and law and order as being helpful to Black youth.
- Feb. 28: Notre Dame Symphony Orchestra with Sylvan Trio, 7:30 p.m., Leighton Concert Hall, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
The planned program includes movements of works by Ravel, Ibert and Nielsen and concludes with William Grant Still's Afro-American Symphony, the most performed American symphony until 1950 and a rare entry in the classical canon by a Black composer. The Notre Dame Symphony Orchestra, directed by Daniel Stowe, is an ensemble of 80-90 musicians performing orchestral music from the 18th to the 21st centuries. The Sylvan Trio — comprising Suzanne Bona on flute, Josh Aerie on cello and Greg Kostraba on piano — explores new music as well as pieces from the standard repertoire.
Latest University News
- Internationally recognized physician Tom Catena to visit Notre DamePhysician, humanitarian and medical missionary Dr. Tom Catena will visit the University of Notre Dame on Nov. 12 (Wednesday) to deliver the 2025 Rev. Bernie Clark, C.S.C., Lecture at 5 p.m. in the Eck Visitors Center Auditorium. Catena’s lecture, titled “Hope and Healing,” is also part of the 2025-26 Notre Dame Forum, which is organized around the theme “Cultivating Hope.”
- Karen Deak named executive director of Notre Dame’s IDEA CenterKaren Imgrund Deak has been selected as executive director of the IDEA Center at the University of Notre Dame, where she has served in the interim role since September of 2024. She will lead the unit and oversee the roll out of its recent strategic reorganization. Deak brings to the role knowledge of developing partnerships at the IDEA Center, across the University, and beyond.
- Kevin and Cynthia O’Brien endow Notre Dame center devoted to international security research, teaching and leadership formationKevin and Cynthia O’Brien of Dallas have made a significant gift to the University of Notre Dame to endow the O’Brien Notre Dame International Security Center, which provides a forum for scholars and students at the University of Notre Dame and elsewhere to explore the most pressing issues in national security policy.
- Notre Dame receives $2.5 million gift from Coca-Cola to expand entrepreneurship programs into FIFA World Cup 26 host citiesThe Coca-Cola Company in North America has awarded a $2.5 million gift to the University of Notre Dame’s Urban Poverty and Business Initiative (UPBI). The initiative brings together universities and nonprofit organizations committed to alleviating poverty and helping low-income and underprivileged individuals launch and grow sustainable businesses. The gift will enable UPBI, housed within the University’s Keough School of Global Affairs, to expand its network of partner organizations across the United States and into Canada, including cities that will host the FIFA World Cup 26.
- Cardinal Robert McElroy, archbishop of Washington, DC, to speak at Notre Dame Forum event on ‘Healing Our National Dialogue and Political Life’Cardinal Robert McElroy, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., will join University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., for a conversation titled “Healing Our National Dialogue and Political Life” at 4 p.m. Friday (Oct. 17) in Room 215/216, McKenna Hall, as part of the 2025-26 Notre Dame Forum on the theme “Cultivating Hope.” This event is free and open to the public.
- Notre Dame’s Kellogg Institute partners with Vanderbilt University to launch 2025-26 democracy surveyThe University of Notre Dame’s Kellogg Institute for International Studies and Vanderbilt University’s Center for Global Democracy are partnering to advance one of the world’s leading surveys on attitudes toward democracy. Starting in October, the Center for Global Democracy, with support from the Kellogg Institute, will conduct the 2025-26 round of the AmericasBarometer, which tracks public opinion on democracy in 20 countries across the Americas.
