Honored for All Lifetimes

Isaac Garrett was 22 years old in 1963 when Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Garrett had moved to Santa Barbara from his native Louisiana just a few years before and by then he was already community minded. He would serve on the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury and become the president of the local chapter of the NAACP, fighting for equal rights and leading a life of civic duty that would make Dr. King himself proud.

Years following King’s death, several community organizers, including Shirley Kennedy and Sojourner Kincaid-Rolle, organized a two-hour service on Dr. King’s birthday. In 2008, that commitment to Dr. King, the man, his methods, and what he stood for, crystallized into the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara (MLKSB), for which Garrett was one of the founding members. Through a series of community programs and events, MLKSB is committed to fostering positive relationships between multiple community groups in Santa Barbara.

Garrett is 80 years old now, a soft-spoken man who lives by the words of his favorite Dr. King quote: “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” As long as his health permits, Garrett says he will continue to follow Dr. King’s teachings.

“We believe that actions speak louder than words,” he says. “Regardless of what you say, your behavior determines what you are all about.”

MLKSB has organized annual Unity Marches since 2008, and remains steadfast on the front lines of social justice. Earlier in 2021, it hosted a town hall meeting to press government officials for statistics on how minority communities have been negatively impacted by COVID-19 and to push for solutions to help those communities. It’s part of Dr. King’s credo to speak rather than remain silent for your friends.

“Every adult has a duty and responsibility to do what’s right by your fellow man each day,” Garrett says, “and also to encourage your brother that you work alongside to do the same.”