Hundreds of people gathered at De la Guerra Plaza in Santa Barbara on Monday to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day with poems, music, dances, speeches and a march. 

Mia Lopez opened the event by leading the Coastal Band of the Chumash through a prayer ceremony. The band also performed “the ancestor song,” which is about acknowledging old ways of life, singing and dancing, and bringing it back to life. 

Every year, the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara picks an essay and a poem written by local elementary students to be read during the program. 

This year, 12-year-old Matin Balaven, a student from Dunn School in Los Olivos, read his essay titled, “Service Makes the World Better.”

Balaven talked about the importance of service and about the similarities between King and his own grandfather, who Balaven said grew up in Iran and helped those injured by chemical weapons.

“He respected the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. because he embodied service, and that is how my grandfather lived his life, to serve others,” Balaven said. “As I learned about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I remembered examples from my grandfather as well. They both served their country, their people and their families.”

Connor Jacobs, a fifth-grader at Foothill Elementary School, read his short poem echoing the theme of service. 

“Greatness comes from service,” Jacobs said. “It’s like Dr. King said, we can all achieve greatness working on the old homestead. If we all band together, nothing can stand in our way.”

The keynote speech was delivered by Kathy Hughes, a local Realtor who is heavily involved with nonprofit organizations, including the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission, Unity Shoppe and the Salvation Army.

Hughes spoke about King as a leader and the legacy of his “I Have a Dream” speech, which he delivered during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on Aug. 28, 1963. 

“King was a man of devout faith and a lot of optimistic hope. His bravery as he delivered that speech at the historic Washington March will forever be in my mind as one of the most loving expressions of a plea for people to be fair and kind to one another,” Hughes said. 

Assemblyman Gregg Hart was one of the first speakers on Monday and recognized King’s impact on society and culture. 

“It is important for us to be here to recognize his leadership and racial justice and equality and economic rights, rights to the indigenous people and everyone in our community, together to have the power to change our future,” Hart said. 

While the day was bright and sunny, some said there was a shadow over the event as speakers acknowledged the presidential inauguration happening in Washington, D.C., at the same time. 

“It’s also necessary, I think, to recognize what is happening today in Washington, D.C., as President (Donald) Trump is sworn in as the 47th president of the United States, that represents tremendous dissonance between the message of Dr. King and what we’re doing here today and what President Trump has promised our nation,” Hart said.

He also spoke about Trump’s promises of mass deportation of illegal immigrants, threats to wildfire disaster funds, and ignoring environmental protections.

“All of these values — environmental protection, protection for all the citizens in our community, protection for each other as neighbors — were high values in Dr. King’s life, and he talked about them eloquently at every opportunity,” Hart said. 

However, he left the crowd with a message of hope, celebrating California’s diversity and economic impact, promising that California will lead the way toward a better future. 

In her speech, Santa Barbara County Second District Supervisor Laura Capps celebrated the event’s theme for the year — greatness is determined by service, a quote from King. 

“I would argue that in these days, service is self-care, and that’s the kind of self-care I’m going to be employing today, but also for the next four years,” Capps said. “To get through these daunting times, service allows us to grow, to heal, to turn despair, pain and anger into action.”

Following speeches and poems, World Dance for Humanity encouraged the crowd to get up and dance, celebrating King’s legacy and hope for the future. 

The crowd then marched together along State Street to the Arlington Theatre, where the day continued with speeches, poetry and essay readings. 

Lompoc and Santa Maria Events

In Lompoc, a celebration with the theme “Voices of Today, Heroes of Yesterday, Dreams of Tomorrow” took place at the Dick DeWees Community & Senior Center, including speeches and music.

The MLK Committee of Lompoc organized the annual celebration that began with a march from Grace Temple Missionary Baptist Church and included vendors selling jewelry as well as various displays.

Monday’s event in Lompoc followed another celebration Sunday in Santa Maria involving a live performance by the Mizel Museum, an educational nonprofit organization based in Denver.

The play “At the Table with Dr. King” provided insights into the American Civil Rights Movement and is intended to impart valuable lessons about equality and respect.

The Santa Maria/Lompoc branch of the NAACP hosted the free celebration that also included a resource fair at the Allan Hancock College Boyd Concert Hall.

North County Editor Janene Scully contributed to this story.