Speaking to a crowd at Santa Barbara’s Arlington Theatre on Monday, Leah Weber King spoke about the feelings of anger and fear dividing Americans and the need to meet it with something other than hate — radical empathy.

Weber King served as the keynote speaker for the city’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day event, which began Monday morning with speeches near City Hall and a march along State Street.

She is the widow of Dexter Scott King, who is the son of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King.

Weber King spoke Monday about continuing Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy and how her husband worked not only to preserve the memory of his father but also help it grow and adapt to new generations.

She acknowledged that it can be easy to feel angry at times, but said it was not the path that the Kings nor countless other freedom fighters who marched for peace wanted.

“The path of higher consciousness requires something more of us,” Weber King said. “It requires that we see this moment not as an ending, but as a beginning; that we understand these past decades, not as the completion of the dream, but as the foundation upon which we must build.”

She also challenged those in the audience to think about how they will rise to the times and examine their role in systems of injustice. She asked them to consider how they can help their community during these times.

She added that future generations will look back one day at the choices made now.  

“Let us choose love over fear. Let us choose justice over convenience. Let us choose the beloved community over the divisions that would tear us apart,” Weber King said. “Let us honor not just the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. but the movement he represented and the dream he dared us to fulfill.

“And let us do it together as one community, bound by our common humanity and our shared hope for a better world.”

Local politicians also spoke during the event, including Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, and State Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara.

Limón talked about the legacy of MLK Jr. and what it can teach people today, and how people are being targeted for how they look, the language they speak or for their job.

“This is not the first moment in time that we have felt this unjust world, but it is a moment in time that it is more pronounced,” Limón said. “And it is a moment in time that asks and calls for action, that calls for our collective unity, our collective voice, that gets us through these difficult moments.”

Carbajal spoke about Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of a society built on fairness, compassion and shared responsibility. He added that justice is built on how people treat their neighbors, speak for those without a voice and stand up to injustice.

He also criticized rising health care costs, the cost of living and the actions of U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement around the country, specifically in Minneapolis.

“Let’s remember that progress has never been automatic or given,” Carbajal said. “It has always required courage; the courage to speak truth, the courage to organize and the courage to stand up and peacefully resist.”

Earlier in the day, more than 200 people gathered in De la Guerra Plaza to celebrate the memory of King.

The event, organized by the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara, featured songs, dances, and the winners of the organization’s poetry and essay contests.

The main speaker for the morning program was Connie Alexander, president of the Santa Barbara NAACP. She emphasized the need for residents to take the initiative and do the work that benefits the community.

“We can’t wait on people,” Alexander said. “If you see and you know what … needs to be done in this community, assign yourself.”

The winner of the poetry contest was Takunda Chikowero from Brandon Elementary School in Goleta, who read his poem “To Lead Is to Love.” The essay winner was Yunyi Mu, who read her piece titled “The Day No One Asked Where I Was From.”

Assemblyman Gregg Hart and Santa Barbara County Second District Supervisor Laura Capps also spoke during the event.

Monday’s observances included an event in Lompoc.