Naming a number of early civil rights leaders whose work spanned decades, a speaker at Monday’s Lompoc event celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said those in attendance need to fight to make a difference and inspire the next generation. 

The Rev. Dennis Hamilton, senior pastor of The Light of Christ Christian Church in Goleta, noted that “Black heroes” such as Sojourner Truth, Fannie Lou Hamer and Rosa Parks were an impetus for later civil rights actions, including King’s.

Hamilton delivered a passionate keynote speech Monday at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day event in Lompoc celebrating the civil rights movement and its leader.

“I want to encourage us to recognize all of these various personalities that in their generations they were the right person at the right period for the right purpose, and we can do the same,” he said.

“What was it that all these individuals did of notable significance? They fought and they helped. We can fight and we can help,” he added, calling for those at Monday’s event to continue to fight against injustice, discrimination and racial profiling. “We also want to fight to be the inspiration for the next generation.”

Since lying has become fashionable, Hamilton said, there’s a lot to fight for currently. 

“In other words, you can look at the television and somebody will say to you, ‘Don’t believe what your lying eyes saw on the television, but believe what I told you or what I say to you.’ And that’s wrong,” Hamilton said.

The Lompoc celebration, with the theme “Let Us Be the Inspiration for the Next Generation,” began with a march Monday morning from Grace Temple Missionary Baptist Church to the Dick DeWees Community & Senior Center.

At the center, the program, attended by more than 75 people, included speeches, music and dance. The MLK Day Committee of Lompoc organizes the community’s annual celebration.

Participants included Santa Barbara County Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann, Lompoc Mayor Jim Mosby and Lompoc Black Student Union members.

During his speech, Hamilton noted the activists who entered a Minnesota church on Sunday, adding that he doesn’t necessarily believe it’s the proper venue for a protest. 

However, the pastor of the church where the protesters entered reportedly works for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Hamilton added that it’s strange that a pastor could preach the gospel on Sunday and “go out and persecute people on Monday.” 

He said it reminded him of Selma, Alabama’s Bull Connor, a fierce opponent to the civil rights movement in the 1960s, who would teach Sunday School for his church and direct the use of attack dogs and hoses on activists of all ages the next day.

“That’s not right,” Hamilton added.

Instead of referring to ICE employees as agents, Hamilton said he heard a woman suggest they should be called “slave catchers,” a historical reference to actions before the adoption of the 13th Amendment banning slavery.

“If I offend your spiritual sensibilities, then it’s too bad,” Hamilton said, “but I’m not going to apologize, and I’m not going to make any excuses.”