Akron Urban League Hosts Juneteenth “Vax and Vote” Party

AKRON – In a kickoff to the Juneteenth holiday, the Akron Urban League (Akron, OH) hosted a “Vax and Vote Blitz” on Friday, June 17th.

There was music, food, children’s games, vendors and locations where people can both register to vote and get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Retired registered nurse Cynthia Bell was on hand to doing blood pressure screenings and registering voters.

She said, “We have to take things to the community and not wait for them to come to us.”

According to Bell, this event also gave attendees get more comfortable with being out and about due to being secluded due to the pandemic. With this Juneteenth event, Bell said, it gives people access to mental health resources and services.

Other vendors, such as Don Baker II, gave out free haircuts at the event.

“We want to do this and give back to the community.” he said.

Teresa LeGrair, the Akron Urban League president and CEO, who got her second COVID-19 booster shot, was happy to be able to use the mobile clinic to dispel any misinformation about the vaccination or COVID-19.

“We want to support and educate the community and make them aware of the facts,” she said.

She was also incredibly happy to see a showing of such great community support, along with the impressive turnout. The Friday event was the beginning of a weekend full of Juneteenth events.

LeGrair said, “There are so many people who really don’t know what Juneteenth is or that it was a thing. It’s awareness for the community to know another piece of Black history. We celebrate it as Freedom Day.”

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