Part 4 of 8
A community member named what many in the room felt: most of us know the word sickle cell, but not the disease. She's helping start blood drives again — and wants churches and neighbors back in the room. Tap any quote to play the exact moment.
🎙️ In this clip: Audience member · Dr. Yvette Miller
🔴 American Red Cross🟡 Event partners🟣 Sickle Cell Warriors & advocates🟢 Community voices🔵 From the audience
We need to really honestly educate the African American why it's important that we give blood.
Education is the initiative
The response pointed to the Red Cross's partnerships with community organizations — the Divine Nine, Jack and Jill and many more — and to screening donors who self-identify as Black, African American or mixed race for sickle cell trait.
our major thrust with our sickle cell initiative is educating the Black community.
And one fact that surprised the room:
having sickle cell trait was protective against dying from malaria.
📄 Source: Iconic Excellence Comes to Tucson — The Loft Cinema, Tucson, Arizona, September 29, 2026. Quotes are verbatim from the recording's captions, and every timestamp was located in the caption file at build time.
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