George S. Lima
April 4,1919 – March 15, 2011
George S. Lima's story spans 91 years and goes from Fall River, Mass, to Harlem, to the Deep South and back. It is the story of a son of Cape Verdean immigrants, a Harlem brown, student at North Carolina A&T, Tuskegee airman, military photographic officer, founder of the local chapter of Omega Psi Phi, civil rights activist, union organizer, state representative, and statesman who fought for people's rights in his community.
A graduate from Brown University George S. Lima was a fighter for equality of opportunities and recognition. He served as the president the NAACP Providence Branch, the Cape Verdean Progressive Club, the Cape Verdean sub-Committee of the Rhode Island Preservation and Heritage Commission, the American Cape Verdean Cultural Exchange Commission of Rhode Island. He was a strong supporter of all community initiatives.
He was comrade to heroes, a friend to generals; a protector of the forgotten, a voice of the voiceless and a staunch advocate for the rights of all men and women. He fought Joe Louis, danced to Ellington, socialized with Satchmo.
He was an aviator when it was thought that black men couldn't fly. He walked the halls of Ivy League schools in search of an education, which seemed out of reach to many of his race. He faced poverty, prejudice, adversity and ignorance, and through it all, maintained a love of life, an undying perseverance, and a quiet noble dignity. He has seen things that will never be seen again. A man, an icon, a living history for future generations who reminds us that “Black Men Can Fly”.
Lima is founder of The Black Air Foundation, a non-profit organization that introduces inner-city youth to Aviation, Filmmaking, Radio and Television production.
George Lima, 91, of East Providence, RI, died on Tuesday, March 15, 2011. Husband of the late Selma Lima of Ahoski, N.C., father of George Lima, Jr., Atlanta , GA, Anna Maria Bowling, Daytona, FL, and Robert M. Lima, Brockton, MA, 10 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren, sisters-in-law Ann Lambert and Ester Lima of E. Providence, RI.
