Stephaine Graham stood before Clinton City Council Tuesday night to ‘sincerely’ thank members for their participation and support of the 2026 Sampson Juneteenth celebration. ‘This was one of our largest turnouts so far,’ Graham said. Over 2,600 people were in and around the Agri-Exposition Center. ‘I would like to again publicly just say thank you to our fire department…as well as the Clinton City Police Department, and, of course, our honorable mayor for speaking.’ Everyone’s still talking about the words Mayor(Lew) Starling ‘left inside of the room that resonated,’ Graham remarked. She also gave thanks to ‘of course, Ms. Wanda Corbett from District Five, for sitting on our first ever community panel.’ Graham said, ‘It’s really not so much about the numbers, but it’s about the fellowship, the inclusion, the culture, and the experience that our community was able to experience together, and in peace.’
By Dylan Atwood