by Rebecca Hurtado Fairweather
ISLA VISTA, Calif. — On Monday, January 16th, 2023, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Committee of Santa Barbara, Salud Carbajal, Gregg Hart, and Dr. Daina Ramey Berry came together to speak to hundreds at the Arlington Theater, for its 16th annual MLK holiday commemoration to celebrate his life and legacy. Speakers highlighted the importance of Dr. King’s messages today which to Isaac Garret, Vice President of the Santa Barbara committee includes, “showing more kindness to each other”, “being respectful to each other”, and putting ourselves in other’s shoes.
Every third Monday of January commemorates the life, work, and legacy of civil rights leader and Baptist Minister Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King was instrumental in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 through his non-violent means of ending racial segregation. Some notable demonstrations by the civil rights movements include the Montgomery, Alabama Bus Boycotts and the March on Washington.
Within 4 days of Dr. King’s assassination in 1968, legislation for the national holiday was introduced; ultimately the bill would not be passed until 15 years later.
Dr. King’s legacy spans far and wide throughout the world, but his activism was largely influential in the development of a Black Studies Department at UC Santa Barbara.
In 1968, the Afro-American Student Union asked the University of California to recognize Black Studies as an educational focus. The Union also asked for acknowledgment and equitable opportunities for Black Students. Their proposal went ignored by officials, which led to the October 14th demonstration outside of North Hall calling for their demands to be met and for the appointment of a Black woman within the Educational Opportunity Program. This demonstration then led to the proposition of a Black Studies program at UCSB, which currently ranks ninth in the country.
News anchor, Rebecca Hurtado Fairweather takes us along to the 16th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration.