The Santa Maria-Lompoc National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Allan Hancock College, and numerous other organizations are collaborating to pay tribute to the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in celebration, Sunday, Jan. 18 at Allan Hancock College, Boyd Concert Hall, Bldg. F.
The program begins at 2 p.m with Spanish interpretation available.
The free celebration will feature a resource fair, noon to 4 p.m., with offerings such as flu vaccinations from Santa Barbara County Public Health, nonprofit groups, music, poetry and dance, and for-profit vendors with merchandise for sale.
Keynote speaker will be Rev. Dr. Nelson B. Rivers III, pastor of Charity Missionary Baptist Church, North Charleston, South Carolina, and vice president of Religious Affairs and External Relations for the National Action Network (NAN).
For some 38 years, Rev. Rivers served in various leadership roles for the NAACP including chief operating officer, chief of field operations, and vice president of Stakeholder Relations.
Local NAACP President Lawanda Lyons-Pruitt said the planning committee is featuring someone of Rev. Rivers’ caliber “because I have heard him speak numerous times in years past, he is a dynamic speaker who doesn’t mince words, and is needed to for such a time as this to motivate activists and community members at this time in our history when we face so many challenges from the dismantling of DEI, attacks on the LGBTQ+ and immigrant community, to complete lawlessness by people in position of power who are sworn to protect us.”
Dr. King Jr. led the movement for racial equality from 1955 until his assassination on April 4, 1968, and is widely regarded as America’s pre-eminent advocate of nonviolence, and one of the world’s greatest nonviolent leaders.
His many orations including the “I Have A Dream’ speech, Nobel Peace Prize lecture and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” are most revered, and he is the only non-president to have a national holiday dedicated in his honor and memorialized on the Great Mall of the nation’s capital, in addition in hundreds of statues, parks, streets, squares, churches, and other public facilities around the world.
Other sponsors of the local event are: The Fund For Santa Barbara, County of Santa Barbara, Santa Maria Bonita School District, Santa Maria Joint Union High School, United Domestic Workers (UDW), Future Leaders of America (FLA), County of Santa Barbara Women Commission, League of Women Voters of North Santa Barbara County, United Black Student Union, and USA Ninja Challenge.
Those with disabilities requiring assistance or needing additional information should contact Lyons-Pruitt, 805-448-7869.