Like many locations around the country, Notre Dame served as a location for a Juneteenth rally Friday. Among the participants in South Bend were members of the Irish football team, coaches from every varsity sport and the Rev. John Jenkins, the university’s president. About 1,500 people gathered on a 90-degree day.
Irish defensive end Daelin Hayes was among the speakers to the crowd. He talked about him and his fiancee visiting Lincoln Elementary School in South Bend twice a week to work on conflict resolution with students there. He hoped his teammates would be involved with community outreach programs, too.
We #StaNDtogether☘️ #BLM #JuneteenthDay 🙏🏾 https://t.co/eiRL1V7icc
— Daelin Hayes (@DaelinHayes_IX) June 19, 2020
Hayes and offensive lineman Max Siegel also called for Notre Dame to mandate cultural competency classes for the university’s incoming freshmen. While Hayes spoke out against discrimination and called for the university to diversify across the board, Siegel shared some unsettling stories involving his race in the classroom and around campus.
Notre Dame is known for building and fostering leaders. These may be among its important ones yet. Change already is happening, and it’s starting with young people like these.