Hesburgh-King statue unveiled in South Bend | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame Skip To Content Skip To Navigation Skip To Search University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Home Contact Search Menu Home › News › Hesburgh-King statue unveiled in South Bend Hesburgh-King statue unveiled in South Bend Published: June 21, 2017 Author: Andy Fuller Hesburgh-King statue unveiling On a morning filled with brilliant sunshine and 70-degree temperatures, University president Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., joined City of South Bend leaders including Mayor Pete Buttigieg and community members at Leighton Plaza in downtown South Bend. There, a sculpture was unveiled, based on a famous photo showing the late University president Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., holding hands with King during a 1964 civil rights rally in Chicago. The Wednesday (June 21) march and unveiling ceremony held amid the resplendent beauty of the first day of summer commemorated an event that occurred when the figurative storm clouds of racial inequality darkened the country’s horizon. In remarks at the ceremony, Father Jenkins recalled that many people, if not most whites, viewed King as a controversial figure in his time. And so it was that several prominent figures turned down King’s invitation to attend a rally at Soldier Field in Chicago to promote equality and denounce the murders of civil rights workers in the South. But when the phone call came to Father Hesburgh as he was working in his office, his response was simple: “What time do you need me?” He drove from South Bend to Chicago on June 21, 1964, to participate. At the end of the rally, he joined hands with King and sang, “We Shall Overcome.” It was during the singing that the famous photograph was taken. The photograph now hangs in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery. “We’re all part of a bigger tapestry, and that is what the location of this sculpture on Main Street represents," said Buttigieg. Recognized as a civil rights champion, Father Hesburgh served as president of Notre Dame from 1952 to 1987, and was a principal architect of the Civil Rights Act. He served on the Civil Rights Commission from its inception in 1957 until 1972. That same year Father Hesburgh was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, for his visionary work against elements of apartheid in America. The South Bend sculpture, funded by private donations, was designed by Granger-based artist Tuck Langland. Efforts to find the identity of the photographer from the 1964 rally have proven fruitless. Yet Father Jenkins noted that what was captured in that moment, and memorialized by the sculpture, “should remind us to join hands to build communities of justice, of mutual respect, of love.” “And when that phone call comes to us and it says, ‘We need you to work for justice, for peace,’ may we simply respond, ‘What time do you need me?’” Posted In: Faith Home Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Related October 03, 2022 dCEC to Award 2023 ND Evangelium Vitae Medal to Robert P. George September 22, 2022 In memoriam: Rev. Richard Warner, C.S.C., longtime leader for Notre Dame, Congregation of Holy Cross September 15, 2022 In new book on global Catholicism, Provost John McGreevy explores modern history, current challenges of the Church September 15, 2022 Death penalty abolitionist Sister Helen Prejean to speak at Notre Dame September 14, 2022 Apostolic nuncio to Great Britain to deliver the 2022 Keeley Vatican Lecture For the Media Contact Office of Public Affairs and Communications Notre Dame News 500 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest © 2022 University of Notre Dame Search Mobile App News Events Visit Accessibility Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn