TIFTON — May was proclaimed as National Lupus Awareness Month at the recent Tifton City Council workshop.

Mayor Julie Smith read the proclamation to Pat McKinnon and a purple-clad group who stood in front of the council

Smith said millions have been diagnosed with lupus, which she described as “an unpredictable and misunderstood autoimmune disease that ravages different parts of the body.”

“It is difficult to diagnose, hard to live with and a challenge to treat,” Smith said.

She urged everyone to join the effort in raising awareness for lupus and to support those who have been diagnosed with it. Smith thanked McKinnon for being an advocate.

McKinnon thanked Smith and the council for their support. Her group has been raising awareness of lupus for 10 years, she said.

World Lupus Day is May 10. In support, McKinnon asked everyone to please wear purple, which is the color of Lupus Foundation of America.

“Do some shade of purple as this is a cruel, cruel mystery of a disease,” she said.

McKinnon said some in the group attending the council workshop were currently battling lupus. Added together, she said the group represents more than 100 years of being diagnosed with lupus.