Interfaith Prayer Breakfast Honors Martin Luther King Jr.

An interfaith prayer breakfast to honor Martin Luther King Jr. drew about 1,600 people Saturday, including Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, who praised the gathering as “a commitment by all faiths to bring themselves in harmony with one another.”

In a cavernous gym at Los Angeles Southwest College, the Rev. Heber Jentzsch of the Church of Scientology delivered the opening prayer. Members of the International Children’s Choir, dressed in the traditional costumes of several countries, rapped and sang “Let There Be Peace on Earth.”

Baca, who delivered the keynote address, said that the slain civil rights leader stood for justice and equality. The sheriff denounced terrorists who cite their faith to justify “their so-called calling to kill.”

“The worst thing that terrorists do is they create a false image of the teaching of their prophet,” Baca said.

Also attending was Ken Carter, whose life story as a high school basketball coach in Richmond, Calif., is the subject of a current feature film starring Samuel L. Jackson.

“Martin Luther King just went out and did his job, and he did it with a lot of integrity,” Carter said. “That’s what we need today.”

King, who was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis, Tenn., a day after delivering his now-famous “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, is honored by Monday’s holiday.

After the breakfast, attendees joined an estimated 35,000 people at the 10th annual Community Day event nearby.

The event in South Los Angeles featured a job fair, health forum and home-buyers’ exposition, as well as clothing and food giveaways.

Brian Quijada, 18, a senior at Washington High School who was looking for a part-time job, said the events were a good way to honor King.

“A lot of things wouldn’t have happened without Martin Luther King,” he said. “A lot of things have changed.”