Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy

She grew up on a dirt road in rural Clinton, Miss. She grew up going to segregated schools, using text books that were 10 years old — hand-me-downs from the White schools.

Betty Payne didn’t grow up discouraged. She had hope. She was determined.

“You don’t let things stop you,” Payne said. “You have to persevere in spite of.”

Payne was a senior in high school when she learned of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She was stunned, like the rest of the world, but she had listened and she learned from him.

“I believed all the things that he did made that future possible,” she said.

Payne graduated high school No. 6 in a class of nearly 300 students. She received a full college scholarship to the University of Illinois, where she was one of the only 1 percent of Black students. She pursued a degree in criminal justice and urban planning, having a dream of one day becoming a prison warden.

Instead, she joined the U.S. Air Force immediately after graduation, spending 23 years defending her country from 1973 to 1996. Her military career was successful and was “the best time in my life.”

Not only was Payne a 2nd lieutenant aircraft maintenance officer, she was also in the first class of female navigators in the Air Force aviation school. They didn’t allow women to be pilots until 1977.

“I have to admit, it opened the world to me. I’ve flown over three quarters of the world, landed in countries that I don’t even know their names because they changed due to political unrest,” she said. “It is mind-blowing to come from that dirt road in Clinton, Mississippi, to Madagascar to Greece to wherever they sent us.”

Payne then became an air officer commander at the U.S. Air Force Academy. She ended her career as chief of safety at two military bases, including Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque. After her retirement, she really didn’t and is working at Sandia Labs in the construction management program.

“We need to broaden our horizons,” she concluded. “Look out for your family, look out for your neighbors, look out for your friends. Hopefully, they won’t look just like you.

“Incorporate people into your life. Invite them for a dialogue. You might not agree with everything they say, but I’m willing to listen to your side — your religion, your beliefs — if you will listen to mine.

“One thing we can all do — no skills required — listen more than you talk ... We can unite and make this a place we want to live in a nonviolent way, and that is following the teachings of Dr. King.”

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, “I Have A Dream,” in his renowned speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., in 1963.

On Saturday, Pastor Sterling Williams of the Living Water Church in Belen powerfully echoed those words and encouraged those at the 35th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Service with a speech titled “Let Me Dream” about “extending the dream” of Dr. King.

“Martin said this at the March on Washington … he shared a divine vision and called it a dream. He said that he would dream one day, and that day has yet to come,” Williams said in his keynote speech. “So we must still dream. Look at the person next to you and say, ‘Please, let me dream.’ Look at the other side and say, ‘Please, let me dream.’

“If you see me dreaming, don’t wake me up. If you see me dreaming, don’t shake me, but let me enter into the vision which God has shown me, that I may obey the calling of the Lord. If you see me dreaming, don’t wonder what it’s about. Just help me bring it to pass,” he said.

Williams’ words were embraced and expanded on during the commemoration service, held Saturday, Jan. 17, at the UNM-Valencia Campus Student Community Center in Tomé.

In his remarks, Dr. Samuel Dosumu, chancellor of UNM-Valencia Campus, thanked Pastor Washington for his “inspiring message.”

“You reminded us of what today really represents, and your message, as I listened to you, was simply: ‘It’s OK to dream.’ Never stop dreaming,” Dosumu said. “Again, those are your words. My wife is sitting next to me. She turned to me and said, “Let me dream.” And you know what? If you can dream it, you can do it.

“That message is perfect for today and for tomorrow, for all of us,” he concluded.

After the celebration, Leonard Waites, Most Worshipful Grand Master, of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of New Mexico, commended UNM-Valencia for continuing the celebration for more than 30 years and said Dr. King’s speech in Washington is still very relevant.

“He talked about the things that are happening today. Yeah. He talked about Vietnam as part of his speech — the militarism we’re going through now. Yeah. So he’s right on point. What happened then is happening today. And it’s very important that we pay attention and continue to follow his dream of peace.”