Newton commemorated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday with its 57th annual ceremony, organized by the Harmony Foundation, at West Newton’s First Unitarian Universalist Society of Newton on Monday morning.

The speakers, the audience—the whole vibe, really—centered around racial justice activism, a sharp contrast to what was happening a little more than 400 miles away in the nation’s capital: the inauguration of the controversial, often racially divisive, Donald Trump as the nation’s 47th president.

“We fear that drunk with the wine of the world, too many are questioning the goal of human rights,” Mayor Ruthanne Fuller said. “We are filled with apprehension that the difficult march forward toward liberty, equity, inclusivity and equality may be shifted into reverse.”

The guest speaker was Dr. Brandon Crowley, pastor from Myrtle Baptist Church in West Newton. Crowley did not hold back his feelings on the day’s events and the “stark reminder of the divisions that challenge our progress and threaten the very ideals we honor in Dr. King’s memory,” Crowley said. “Today, on King Day, a man will be put into the highest office of the land based on the color of his skin rather than the content of his character.”

Crowley invoked Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities to note how differently social justice is viewed by people on each side of the cultural divide. He kept with that analogy when pointing out how people see two versions of Dr. King.

“One portrays him as a non-threatening, sanitized and diluted symbol, softened to be palatable and comfortable for white America,” Crowley said. “The other reveals the true King, a radical agitator for justice who challenged and threatened the very foundations of American society.”

Crowley urged white Americans to pick up the cause of racial justice and do the work needed to make King’s vision of racial equality a reality.

“My friends, white people must do more than just keep the dream alive, because the dream was meant for us. The work is for you,” he said. “I say this in love: White America, this is not your dream. Dreaming is what oppressed people do because they lack the power to change thing under the empire.”

You can watch the entire ceremony here.

Here are some photos from the event.