Celebrate Freedom, Unity and Community: Juneteenth Redteenth Fest

WELCOME BACK. CELEBRATING FREEDOM. UNITY AND COMMUNITY. THIS YEAR’S JUNETEENTH RED TEAM FREEDOM DAY CULTURAL FESTIVAL IS IN THE WORKS, AND ORGANIZERS WANT YOU TO PUT IT ON YOUR CALENDAR. IT’S HAPPENING IN WELLINGTON HERE TO TALK ALL ABOUT THE EXCITING EVENTS PLANNED AT THE WELLINGTON AMPHITHEATER IS SHALONDA WARREN AND MARTIN NELSON, BOTH WITH THE SICKLE CELL FOUNDATION OF PALM BEACH COUNTY. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BOTH FOR BEING HERE. YOU KNOW, IT WAS JUST RECENTLY WHEN JUNETEENTH BECAME A FEDERAL HOLIDAY. IT’S BEING RECOGNIZED AS THAT NOW. AND IT’S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THIS DAY. WE ALL KNOW THAT. BUT TALK ABOUT THIS TITLE, JUNETEENTH RED TEAM. WHAT DOES THAT EXACTLY MEAN FOR PEOPLE WHO MIGHT NOT KNOW? WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALLOWING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT THAT. SO WE KNOW THAT JUNETEENTH WAS THE END OF SLAVERY AS WE KNEW IT, AS WE KNOW IT HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, WHERE IT ENDED IN TEXAS. AND THE EXACT DATE WAS UNKNOWN. THEY KNEW THAT IT WAS SOMEWHERE IN JUNE, SO IT WAS REFERRED TO AS JUNETEENTH AND JUBILEE DAY AND WORLD SICKLE CELL DAY OCCURS ON JUNE 19TH, WHICH IS JUNETEENTH. SO THAT’S WHERE THE JUNETEENTH RED TEAM CELEBRATION COMES IN, WHERE WE’RE CELEBRATING JUNETEENTH AND OUR WORLD SICKLE CELL DAY. OKAY, PERFECT. AND WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THESE EVENTS THAT ARE HAPPENING, OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF FUN IS HAPPENING. I SAW SOME VIDEO OF THE EVENT AT THE AMPHITHEATER. IS THERE ALSO AN EDUCATION COMPONENT? WHAT DO YOU HOPE FAMILIES WALK AWAY WITH FROM THE EVENT? SO WE LIKE FOR THEM TO KNOW ABOUT SICKLE CELL AND SICKLE CELL. STILL EXISTS. SO THEY NEED TO GET TESTED. SO WE COULD STOP THE SPREAD OF THE DISEASE FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION. CAN YOU EXPLAIN FOR PEOPLE WHO MIGHT NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH SICKLE CELL, WHAT EXACTLY IT IS, AND DOES IT SPECIFICALLY AFFECT ONE COMMUNITY MORE THAN OTHERS? SURE. WELL I’LL START. I WANT TO GO BACK TO THE QUESTION THAT YOU JUST ASKED. AND YES, EVERY WORLD SICKLE CELL DAY EVENT WE HAVE, THERE’S A COMPONENT THAT EXPRESSES WHAT SICKLE CELL DISEASE IS, AND THEN WE WRAP IT INTO A CELEBRATION AND FESTIVITIES THAT BRING PEOPLE IN AND OPEN THE DOOR FOR US TO BE ABLE TO TO SNEAK IN SOME REALLY, REALLY GOOD INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO LEARN AND HOW IT AFFECTS THE COMMUNITY. DO YOU WANT TO DESCRIBE WHAT THE IS SICKLE CELL DISEASE IS INHERITED FROM YOUR MOTHER AND YOUR FATHER, SO THAT’S THE ONLY WAY YOU COULD GET IT. AND IT’S A DISEASE THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH RED BLOOD CELL TO PUT THE ENOUGH OXYGEN INTO YOUR BODY TO DO THE WORK IT’S SUPPOSED TO DO. SO THEREFORE, PEOPLE WITH SICKLE CELL DISEASE USUALLY HAVE A LOT OF PAIN CRISES AND HAVE A LOT OF ISSUES. SO WE NEED PEOPLE TO BE AWARE OF THAT. AND THAT’S WHAT WHICH IS WHERE THE RED COMES FROM. YES. RED TEAM. YES. AND REALLY QUICKLY, IF SOMEONE IS THINKING THEY MIGHT HAVE SICKLE CELL DISEASE, IS THERE A COMMON SYMPTOM THAT YOU COULD SAY, HEY, I MIGHT HAVE THIS, I’M GOING TO GO TO THE DOCTOR AND GET CHECKED OUT. SO SICKLE, AS MARTIN WAS STATING, SICKLE CELL DISEASE IS INHERITED. YOU RECEIVE THE TRAIT FROM YOUR MOTHER AND FATHER. AND IN THE UNITED STATES, PEOPLE. EVERY BABY THAT IS BORN IN THIS COUNTRY IS TESTED FOR SICKLE CELL DISEASE AT BIRTH. GOT IT. SO WE’RE VERY FORTUNATE THAT THAT IS OCCURRING. BUT THERE, AS PEOPLE EVOLVE THROUGH LIFE, SOMETIMES THAT INFORMATION IS NOT COMMUNICATED. WE PROVIDE COMPLETELY FREE TESTING TO THOSE THAT ARE INTERESTED IN KNOWING THEIR STATUS. AND ALSO, AS MARTIN WAS SAYING, IT’S VERY IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO KNOW WHETHER OR NOT THEY HAVE THE DISEASE OR THE TRAIT. ABSOLUTELY. WELL, I’M LEARNING SO MUCH JUST TALKING TO YOU ALL. I CAN ONLY IMAGINE GOING TO THE EVENT AGAIN PAIRED WITH JUNETEENTH CELEBRATIONS. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING ON FIVE YEARS AND GOING NOW FOR THE JUNETEENTH RED CELEBRATION. YES, FIVE YEARS. THE SICKLE CELL FOUNDATION HAS BEEN AROUND FOR CLOSE TO 50 YEARS SERVING THE COMMUNITY. ALL RIGHT, SO LOOK, IF YOU’RE LIKE ME AND WANT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SICKLE CELL AND JUNETEENTH, THIS WHOLE CELEBRATION, AGAIN, IT’S HAPPENING AT THE WELLINGTON AMPHITHEATER JUNE 14TH. CORRECT? YES. ALL RIGHT, SO JUST GO TO OUR WE

This year’s Juneteenth Redteenth Fest is happening at the Wellington Amphitheater on June 14 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Click here for more information.