Our dear friend and founding member of MLKSB passed away November 13, 2023. She lived a life of “uplift” to the entire community, and was a friend to many in all of Santa Barbara. She is irreplaceable and will be deeply missed.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee Santa Barbara,
Board of Directors
Sojourner was a founding member of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara, and she played a pivotal role in the organization’s development. She campaigned two years (1986 -1988) for the City of Santa Barbara to recognize and honor the MLK Jr. holiday, which was made a federal holiday in January of 1986. Sojourner was actively involved in all MLK holiday celebrations for the next twenty years. In 2007 she was called on to be part of a more organized effort to plan the city’s celebration for the Martin Luther King holiday, which evolved into the creation the Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara (MLKSB).
E. Onja Brown Lawson