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Published on February 04, 2025
“Are you willing to move backward or are you willing to fight to move forward?” said Rodney Alexander, vice president of the Willimantic chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), during Eastern Connecticut State University’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration on Jan. 29. The event honored King’s life and achievements in the ongoing fight against racial segregation and systemic injustice.
Eastern President Karim Ismaili gave welcoming remarks, reminding guests of King’s emphasis on service, compassion and empathy. “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” he said, quoting King.
Scot X. Esdaile, president of the Connecticut State Conference of NAACP Branches, shared the history of the NAACP, the largest and oldest civil rights organization in the world. He explained that for 115 years, the organization has fought against housing discrimination, unequal education and segregation in restaurants, hotels, bathrooms and public transportation.
“We are not soldiers of war and bloodshed but soldiers of peace and justice, soldiers of legal battles, soldiers for righteous policies,” Esdaile said. He spoke about the NAACP’s victories against white supremacist groups and racial violence and urged students to get involved, make their voices heard, develop leadership and create new ideas to combat social injustice.
“It’s the young people who will take it on and make history, so they’ll read about them 115 years from now,” he said.
Esdaile concluded by speaking about Harriet Tubman, who not only escaped slavery but returned to rescue more people through an underground network. He urged the audience to act in this spirit and help others achieve success. “When you become successful, don’t forget where you came from. Go back and get others and help them become successful,” he said.
Alexander spoke about the challenges America faces. “Every race, every gender is being challenged, but we won’t go back,” he said. He shared a story from his time serving in the United States Air Force in Korea, where he was called an American for the first time. “I had to go 10,000 miles away from home to be called an American, but that’s a problem we have — we see color, and we stop there.”
Alexander challenged the audience to stand and fight to move ahead, use their voices and remember that as citizens, they still have a voice and should not be afraid to use it.
Hatshepsu Coutain-Julien, president of Eastern’s NAACP chapter, provided updates on the organization’s work regarding linguistic racism and its damaging impact on communities, health equity for underrepresented students who lack relationships with healthcare providers and environmental justice, which affects daily life.
Eastern NAACP Vice President Sandra Boakye reminded students of the power they have to create change. “The power is within us as youth because we are truly the ones who are going to take up this mantle,” she said.
The event ended with Eastern NAACP Treasurer Jibril Davis reciting Langston Hughes’ poem “I, Too.” Vocalist Ashlee Bowman performed “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” and a video recording played an excerpt from King’s speech “Your Life’s Blueprint,” reminding the audience, “If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl, but keep moving forward.”
Written by Darlene Orozco '28