Limestone NAACP honors Juneteenth with community events

Adam Dodson and Nicolle Sartain, The News Courier, Athens, Ala.
·2 min read

Jun. 18—The Limestone County NAACP held their second Juneteenth Event on Saturday, with services to aid the community.

"I was glad to see Alabama recognize (Juneteenth). More importantly, glad to see the nation recognize it," said Limestone County NAACP President Wilbert Woodruff. "Still today, in my opinion, we do not have our full civil rights. There's still a lot of issues that need to be addressed as far as equality goes for all citizens of the United States."

There were stations to help people get set up to vote. One was set up to help non-drivers get a photo ID and another was set up for voter registration.

"Voter registration is key. We have a runoff coming up (next week). Then, we have a very important general election coming up in November," Woodruff said. "It's so important that we engage as many citizens as we can in this upcoming general election."

There were also health services available. A vaccine booth was there for people to get COVID-19 vaccinations. The Limestone NAACP's goal is to get the county to 90 percent vaccination.

LifeSouth brought a bus for a blood drive. This weekend, June 19, marks National Sickle-Cell Day,

Sickle Cell Disease occurs among about 1 out of every 365 Black or African-American births, according to the CDC.

"We need blood in our communities. Black (people) are the most affected by diseases like sickle-cell, and then we are probably lower on the donation perspective. So, there's always a vast need for blood in our community," Woodruff said.

Becky Cecil, Regional Community Development Coordinator for LifeSouth, spoke to The News Courier about the need for blood.

"We need donors daily. We are still very much in need of more donors. There is a nationwide shortage of blood, and north Alabama is not immune to that."

LifeSouth in Alabama helps 125 hospitals. For more information on donations and the need for blood you can go to lifesouth.org.

The event was at Lincoln Bridgeforth Park in Athens from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.