Who Is The ‘Grandmother of Juneteenth’ Opal Lee?

Opal Lee Walked 1,400 Miles to Fight For Juneteenth to be a Holiday

At 89-years-old, she made it her duty to fight for Juneteenth to be recognized as a holiday across the nation. In 2016, she walked 1,400 miles from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington, D.C  and in hopes of getting Congress’ attention. Each day she walked two and a half miles. The daily distance symbolized the two and a half years it took for slaves in Galveston, Texas to be notified of slavery’s end in 1865 after it was abolished in 1863.

“I decided that surely there was something I could do to bring attention to the fact that we needed Juneteenth as a national holiday,” Lee told Blavity. “So I decided, if a little old lady in tennis shoes was walking toward Washington, D.C., somebody would take notice.”

In 2020, she garnered 1.5 million signatures on her petition to have Juneteenth made into a holiday, according to Fort Worth Magazine. 

Lee’s Childhood Home Was Vandalized on Juneteenth

Growing up in Marshall and Fort Worth, Texas, celebrating Juneteenth every year was the norm for Lee. She compared the annual festivals to Christmas and said the town would spend the day picnicking, playing baseball and other games and enjoying lots of different foods.

When she was nine, the joyous occasion was soured when a white mob destroyed her home.

“They burned furniture. They set the house on fire. It was terrible. It really was,” Lee told CNN about the hate crime, which happened on Juneteenth.

It all happened a week after Lee and her family moved into an all-white neighborhood. No arrests were ever made.

She Organized Juneteenth Celebrations in Texas

As an adult, she became an educator and activist who began organizing Juneteenth celebrations. During the 1970s, Lee would organize festivals that would attract 30,000 people over a three-day period.

“It was pure festival,” she told CNN. “I mean we even took exhibits from the historical society to the park.”

Lee also hosted annual 2.5 mile walks every year on Juneteenth and will continue to do so this year and beyond.

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Lee Wrote a Children’s Book About Juneteenth

In 2019, Lee published a children’s book about Juneteenth, Juneteenth: A Children’s Story Book. With the book, Lee wanted to break down the day’s significance so that teachers could use the book as a tool in the classroom. The book was updated this year with new illustrations and a special section dedicated to teachers and parents.

“I want all people, young and old, to know what Juneteenth is and understand its significance,” she said in a statement. “It’s never too early to teach children about our country’s history, about our mission of unity, and about the importance of celebrating freedom. I hope my revised book can be a useful tool when it comes to teaching all our young people about the challenges of our past, and give hope for the future.”