MLK Jr. Day Gets Five Days of Events

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is officially recognized on January 19 in the U.S. 

Keeping his dreams and inspiration alive are five days of events planned by the MLK Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara (MLKSB) and Healing Justice SB (HJSB) in coordination with local churches and organizations. The highlight this year is a talk by Leah Weber King, a member of the MLK family. The full schedule also features a signing by Simone Akila Ruskamp of her book We Were Here, We Are Here: A Living History of Black Santa Barbara and author Wren T. Brown for The Family Business. There will be a Unity March up State Street, student poetry readings, a Ring Shout performance, screening of Sam Pollard’s film MLK and the FBI, and local faith worship services.

In preparing this special news report, I reached out to Dr. Gregory Freeland PhD, the president of the MLKSB; the Co-Executive Directors of Healing Justice SB, Simone Akila Ruskamp and Leticia Forney Resch who have been at the forefront of many issues facing our Black community and integral to the events celebrating Black History; along with, of course, First District Supervisor Roy Lee; and for inspiration and healing, Dr. Leonie Mattison EdD.

Freeland stated, “MLKSB’s keynote speaker Leah Weber King at the MLK Day Arlington Theatre program is a meaningful experience for our community. Leah, who is the widow of MLK’s son Dexter, will delve into Coretta Scott King as a theme for her presentation. Leah King is devoted to ensuring that MLK’s message of justice, equality, and nonviolence continues to inspire future generations. The mission of the MLKSB is to foster positive relationships between the many diverse groups in the SB community and the surrounding areas. The MLK Day observance and celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. accomplishes much of this through the student poetry and essay contest, the screening of a documentary on MLK and the FBI, and the unity march up State Street.”

Healing Justice SB, “As a Black founded and led collective, focused on community education as a means for social change, we are honored to carry forth King’s legacy. We are still striving for many of the same goals King named decades ago and continue to use many of the same strategies and tactics that serve him and our many foremothers. Then like now, King stated that ‘…education has been a battleground in the freedom struggle,’ and we are honored to meet students and adults in classrooms and community meeting rooms to remind them of their worth, inherent dignity, and rights by teaching local Black history and organizing. We are now entering our third year of partnership with the Santa Barbara Unified School district and published our first children’s book celebrating Black pride and legacy in the region. We know that investing in this type of community knowledge will hasten our efforts towards equity in many areas (immigration, reproductive justice, LGBTQIA+ rights, disability justice, workers’ rights and renters’ rights).”

1^st District Supervisor Roy Lee, “Martin Luther King Jr. fought for equality and dignity for everyone. He understood that rights don’t mean much if they’re not real for all of us – for his family, my family, and our neighbors’ families. His legacy continues to push us to stand up for fairness and opportunity, and to make sure people feel safe, respected, and included in their own communities. And he reminded us of something important: real progress doesn’t come from speeches alone. It comes from showing up, taking action, and working together, day after day.”

To conclude this special report on MLK Jr., is Dr. Leonie H. Mattison, EdD, MBA, whose research, poetry and statements continue to inspire us. She replied to my request as follows: 

“In his 1960 address at Spelman College, ‘Keep Moving from This Mountain,’ Dr. King offered words that continue to meet us where we are. He spoke to people carrying hope alongside fatigue, vision alongside burden. He reminded them, and he reminds us now: ‘Keep moving, for it may well be that the greatest song has not yet been sung, the greatest book has not been written, the highest mountain has not been climbed. This is your challenge. Reach out and grab it and make it a part of your life. Reach up beyond cloud-filled skies of oppression and bring out blazing stars of inspiration. The basic thing is to keep moving.

“There is something deeply human in this invitation. Dr. King understood that struggle does not only press on institutions and laws. It presses on our inner life, narrowing imagination and arresting courage. His words speak directly to that inner place where people wonder if effort still matters. ‘Keep moving’ becomes an act of faith in what is still possible.

“Here at the community level, honoring Dr. King calls us to notice the mountains we live with every day. Some are visible while others are quieter, shaped by habit, fear, or inherited ways of doing things that no longer reflect who we are becoming. His message invites us to move with intention, to widen the circle of belonging, and to keep choosing dignity for one another through our actions and decisions.

“Across the globe, Dr. King’s voice feels remarkably present. We are living in a time of extraordinary change. Technology moves faster than visible wisdom as the future has arrived before we feel ready. His call reminds us that progress carries responsibility, and movement matters most when it is guided by conscience, care, and a deep regard for human life.

“Dr. King trusted that history still holds more beauty than we can see from where we stand. I believe that our songs are still forming in a climb that continues onward. MLK Jr. Day invites each of us to keep moving with hope, courage, and a willingness to reach beyond the clouds toward the stars we have yet to bring forth.”  

411: www.hjsb.org

www.leoniemattison.com