Rally celebrates legacy of civil rights leader

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Hundreds poured into the Marjorie Luke Theatre this morning to listen as elected officials and faith leaders spoke in warm remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and delivered a call to social action in the face of moral and ethical challenges facing both the Santa Barbara community and the world as a whole.
In August 1963, Dr. King stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered the words that have since embodied the nationwide struggle for civil rights, equality and social justice.
Nearly 40 years since Dr. King’s assassination, community leaders looked back on those emphatic words and asked the simple question, are we living the dream?

In a series of speeches and presentations punctuated with choir performances, many recognized the leadership and legacy of Dr. King while acknowledging the hurdles that still remain on the path to achieving his vision.
“We have made great strides to fulfill his dream,” Congresswoman Lois Capps said. “…But we also know there is much unfinished work to be done.”
Dr. Hymon Johnson, a professor at Antioch University, delivered a resounding and pointed keynote address peppered with affirmations and cheers from the audience as he called on the community to take action.
“The time comes when silence is betrayal,” he said. “There comes a time when one must take a position not because it is safe, politic or popular, but one must take it because it is right.”
Although Dr. King might applaud the progress made if he were alive today, Dr. Johnson said, his applause would not last long — he would quickly focus again on moral and ethical violations in the United States and across the globe.
“Dr. King’s heart would be severely troubled by the rogue actions of our government,” he said. “…A nation that spends more on military strength than social uplift is heading for spiritual death.”
Highlighting a struggling economy, crumbling schools and hospitals, class stratification, and a lack of healthcare for the impoverished, Dr. Johnson said social justice remains as elusive as ever for far too many people.
“Principles without practice are pointless,” he said. “The same old ways of stop-gap politics, of providing a program here and a program there, simply does not work.”
Rather than merely concurring with an abstract concept, he urged the audience to take responsibility of preventing perpetuation of the status quo, to celebrate the legacy of Dr. King with action.
“This day is about the present and future world we want to live in and the community we want to create,” Dr. Johnson said. “…We can always be more attentive to the needs of those we meet in our daily lives. Let us make a commitment that will last, that will carry beyond this day.”
In addition to the keynote address, the ceremony included presentations of proclamations from the county and city of Santa Barbara as well as the reading of winning entries from a student essay and poetry contest.
Prior to filing into the Marjorie Luke Theatre, participants gathered at Santa Barbara High school for a flurry of action, including speeches, dancing and chants. Then, holding a banner reading, “40 years later, are we living the dream?” the crowd flooded down Milpas Street to the theater, singing “When the Saints Go Marching In” as they filled the seats.
After being introduced by emcee Derrick Curtis, president of the Brotherhood of Santa Barbara, Rev. Dr. Wallace Shepherd described his experience of marching with his father and Dr. King when he was 9 years old.
“When he walked into the room, there was a sense of power that just stunned you,” Rev. Dr. Shepherd.
Once county supervisors and city councilmembers presented Rev. Dr. Shepherd and Willie Shaw, co-chairs of the organizing committee, with proclamations honoring Dr. King, Rabbi Stephen Cohen delivered a rousing invocation.
“We are one people,” he said to the cheering audience. “We must open our hearts to this simple, powerful, redeeming truth.”
Following a performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by a group of local church and gospel choirs, Curtis introduced William Saa, who received the Dr. Martin Luther King Citizenship Award for his work on social change in Liberia. Saa emphasized the need for non-violent protest and told the audience he is optimistic about the future.
“You are not alone,” he said. “Beyond me, I know there are thousands and thousands of Martin Luther Kings.”
As the ceremony started to draw to a close, the stage curtains parted and a projector played portions of Dr. King’s famed speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
“From every mountainside, let freedom ring. And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children — black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics — will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last!’”