Health issues at forefront of Black History Month event in Frankfort

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WTVQ) – Health was the focus of a Black History Month event at the state capitol in Frankfort on Tuesday.

The event included several speakers, including Emily Bass, a seventh-grader who has battled sickle-cell anemia all her life.

Since the age of four, she has taken part in a monthly “blood exchange” program to lower her chances of having a stroke.

“My mentor gave me a t-shirt that says I have sickle cell, but sickle cell doesn’t have me,” says Bass.  “That shirt is too small, but I still have the words in my head.  I sometimes say them when the rough times come.”

Also at the event, Doctor Wayne Tuckson, who won the 2017 Legacy Award.  He is the founder of the African-American Health Initiative, and works to raise awareness of the disparities in health among minorities, compared to the overall population.