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36 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | SEPTEMBER 2020 Check with your club contact to confirm meeting place, date, and time. John Robert Lewis was born the son of sharecroppers in Troy, Alabama on Feb. 21, 1940. He grew up surrounded by the racism and discrimination of the segregated south. As a young man, the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the actions of Rosa Parks inspired him to devote his life to fighting for racial equality and justice. He was arrested over 40 times and endured severe beatings from angry mobs and police as he risked his life standing on the front lines of the events that defined the Civil Rights era. Lewis was one of the 13 original Freedom Riders in 1961. The Freedom Riders was a multiracial group of activists challenging segregation and discrimination in public places and on buses. He was a keynote speaker at the 1963 March on Washington where Dr. King made his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. One of his biggest accomplishments was serving as Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) from 1963 to 1966. In the early 1960s, young Black college students conducted sit-ins around America to protest the segregation of public places and facilities. They encountered many violent acts from the Ku Klux Klan and white supremacists as well as law enforcement. He also helped spearhead one of the events that led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In addition, he marched with Dr. King from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, an event that would become known as Bloody Sunday. After Dr. King's assassination in 1968, John Lewis took his activism into politics and served over three decades in Congress as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 5th district. Lewis received many honorary degrees and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He served in the position of Congressman until he died from pancreatic cancer on July 17, 2020 at age 80. He never stopped fighting to make the dream of equality a reality. Lewis said, "I want to continue to be part of an effort to make America one, where we can lay down the burden of race, the burden of hate and create one society." As Dr. King would put it, "If we don't learn to live together as brothers and sisters, we will perish together as fools." The AACC will meet on the first Monday of every month at 6 pm via Zoom for the rest of 2020. For more information, please send an email to infotoaacc@gmail.com or call Betty Ann James at (310) 617- 7330. ~ Regina Thomas African American Cultural Club Italian American Club Veterans Walk Group Ciao Amici Miei (Hello my friends.) The purpose of the Italian American Club is to provide members with the opportunity to share cultural experiences, history, traditions, language, food, and fun being Americans of Italian ancestry. Before the COVID-19 pandemic prevented our meeting in person, we met the second Thursday of each month at The Courts Multipurpose Room at 6 pm. Now we are not able to meet because of the county and state guidelines but know that you are all missed. As soon as we can safely meet at The Courts, we will let everyone know as the facility becomes available. We are looking forward to seeing all of you again. Stay safe and healthy, and please follow all guidelines put in place for our safety. Addio Fina Incontriamo Al Nuovo (Goodbye until we meet again.) ~ Barbara Dipoma and Jerry Monahan, (951) 212-8898 The USMC statue depicting raising of the flag on Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima during WWII. Four Seasons Beaumont Veterans Walk Group is planning to place 260 garden size flags around Four Seasons Circle during Veterans Week in November. The flags will honor our WWII veterans and their families' service and sacrifice. We are a small group and would invite other veterans and supporters for assistance in placing the flags in the grass strips along the sidewalks. If you are interested, please contact Len Tavernetti at ltavernetti@hotmail. com or (909) 744-2388. Volunteers will be given flags and flag holders with instructions on where to place them. Due to social distancing restrictions, flag raisers will not be able to pose for pictures as a group. ~ Leonard Tavernetti John Robert Lewis, former United States Representative