If you know anything about the movement to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, then you have definitely heard the name Opal Lee. The Fort Worth, Texas native has spent decades of her life in service.
She is known as the ‘grandmother of Juneteeth’ for working towards making the holiday federally recognized.
Opal Lee’s family moved to Fort Worth, Texas when she was just 10 years old. In June 1939, her parents bought a home at Texas’ 900 block of East Annie Street, which at the time was a majorly white neighborhood. When she was only 12 years old, a group of 500 white rioters burned down her family’s new home. She still recalls the gruesome day vividly.
She once said about it, “The fact that it happened on the 19th day of June has spurred me to make people understand that Juneteenth is not just a festival.”
After she retired from her teaching career in 1976, she began becoming active in causes that affected her community. She and Lenora Rolla founded the Tarrant County Black Historical and Genealogical Society.
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She has for decades helped organize Fort Worth’s annual Juneteenth celebration. For decades she rallied to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, even holding a symbolic walk from Texas to Washington D.C. in 2017 to meet with President Obama.
Finally in June 2021, at the age of 94 her efforts and years of campaigning paid off as President Biden signed the bill to declare Juneteenth a national holiday.
And even at the age of 96 years old, when she has finally achieved her greatest goal of making Juneteeth a national holiday, she still works for her community and is not slowing down.
To mark her 96th year on the planet, Opal Lee spent her birthday was doing a walk for hunger. Volunteers joined her in a food drive to collect food for families facing food insecurity in her area.
Opal Lee is truly an example of perseverance like no other! Let us join together to wish her a very happy birthday!
Share this article with your friends and family so they can wish Opal Lee on her birthday too.
