Image Up Advertising & Design

If you have ever watched Finding Your Roots With Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr., you know that tracing family roots helps us to define who we are today. Unfortunately, many Black people will never be able to trace our complete family roots. Many of us came to the United States as enslaved Africans and were labeled as property in historical records. Ours was an uphill battle to be considered part of "We the People" with all the rights and freedoms granted to human beings in the Constitution. Our history includes: slavery, escaping slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, Supreme Court decisions, boycotts, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and many other actions and events. We fast forward to today, the 21st century. We live in Four Seasons and have the same rights afforded any other human being by the Constitution. During our lifetimes, the United States elected our first Black president, President Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey became the first Black person to own her own network, and Misty Copeland became the first Black principal ballerina. On Jan. 20, 2021, we witnessed the swearing in of the first female Vice President Kamala Harris. Ms. Harris broke other barriers as well by being the first Black and South Asian person to hold this esteemed office. We have come a long way, but the journey is far from over. The African American Cultural Club meets on the first Monday of the month at 6 pm in The Lodge Game Room. All are invited to attend to fellowship and learn about African American culture. Our next meeting is Monday, Sept. 11. If you have any questions, please contact the AACC President, Wanda Valentine, at (951) 544-1606. ~ Wanda Valentine 48 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | SEPTEMBER 2023 At our August meeting, club members enjoyed a return of Karen Belcher and the "Name that Tune" game which, as usual, was very enjoyable for all. Karen goes to great lengths to make her presentation of "Name that Tune" fun for all, and it is greatly appreciated by our Italian American Club members. In September, Barbara Dipoma and her Steering Committee, are planning a cooking demonstration. As of this writing, no decision has been made on what items might be demonstrated. This meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 14 at 6 pm at The Courts. Please put that date on your calendar. Barbara and her Steering Committee can always use suggestions on what would be interesting to our club members. If you have an idea that you would like to see or hear as part of one of our club meeting, please contact Barbara. New ideas are helpful and always appreciated. We have had an uptick in COVID-19 in our community, and while the numbers are small at this time, we would like to keep it that way. If you feel precautions, such as wearing a mask at our meetings or other meetings where large crowds have gathered, please take the precautions you feel are good for you. As of this writing, the State of California, County of Riverside and the CDC are not requiring masks be worn. The Italian American Club is open to all residents of Four Seasons. You do not have to be Italian to join our group or to come to our meetings. We would love to have you come visit with us. To all our members and everyone at Four Seasons, we hope we will see you soon at one of our meetings. Thank you again to the members of the Jewish Cultural Club and Italian American Club for making our Matzah Ball vs. Meatball competition so enjoyable. Non Vedo L Ori Di Vederti Presto (Looking forward to seeing you soon). ~ Barbara Dipoma, (805) 377-2616, and Jerry Monahan, (951) 212-8898 Italian American Club African American Cultural Club

• Cover