Three months of non-stop quarantine has not dampened the spirit of residents and staff at Mt. San Antonio Gardens Retirement Community who gathered Tuesday for “A Walk for Peace, Hope, and Justice.”

Approximately 200 people gathered to hear remarks by residents Georgeann Andrus and Marian Brown, as well as Gardens CEO Maureen Beith, before they walked the perimeter of the campus, the Gardens shared in a press release.

Everyone present was moved by the inspiring message of Gardens resident and longtime civil rights activist, Myrlie Evers-Williams, who spoke to the crowd as the official leader of the walk.

“Many of us wanted to join the protest marches in Claremont and Pomona, but we couldn’t because of the need to keep the members of our community safe,” Marian Brown, co-chair of the Gardens Diversity Committee, said. “This internal march gives us the opportunity to join with our wider community in protesting 400 years of mistreatment and murder of African Americans, as well as the demeaning of other Americans deemed inferior by white supremacists.

“Today we march in hope and commitment to a better future. We celebrate all those who are committed to equality, and we celebrate the hope of our future: the young generations of our nation who see diversity as a rainbow.”