Bachman Urges Peace and Compassion at MLK Celebration

Dwight Bachman speaks at the Calvary Baptist Church. Photo credit: Amelia Ingraham, The Chronicle

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his "I have a dream" speech in 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Photo credit: Central Press/Getty Images

Former Eastern Connecticut State University President David Carter, a mentor to Bachman and fellow admirer of Dr. King.

On Jan. 20, Dwight Bachman, public relations officer, served as guest speaker for the Windham/Willimantic Chapter of the NAACP’s celebration the birthday of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The theme for the evening at the Calvary Baptist Church in Willimantic was “The Urgency of Now.”

Bachman recapped Dr. King’s life, including a bus boycott he led in Montgomery, AL; his acclaimed “Letter From a Birmingham Jail”; his famous 1963 speech in the nation’s capital; winning the Nobel Prize for Peace; and his assassination in Memphis, TN, in 1968. Bachman said King believed that if he gave his life serving others, loving others and feeding the hungry, his living would not be in vain. Bachman quoted King: “A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right, refuses to stand up for justice and refuses to take a stand for that which is true.”

Bachman asked the audience “What are you doing to become the dream that Martin spoke about? How are you using your wisdom to educate others about racism and injustice? How are you using your privilege and power to stand up for others? Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has left his legacy. What will you do to leave yours?”

Bachman concluded his remarks by reading “Anyway,” by Mother Teresa, a moving passage that the late Dr. David Carter, Eastern’s fifth president, read at each Commencement ceremony:

“People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered;
Forgive them, anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind, anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed, anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank, anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build, anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy, anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good, anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got, anyway!”

“Dr. King said it well,” said Bachman. “‘We’ve got some difficult days ahead.’ But if we decide to ‘Do Good, anyway,’ I believe we will make Dr. King’s dream become a reality.”

Categories: Equity/Diversity