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After Mrs. Opal Lee worked tirelessly for decades to make Juneteenth a national holiday, one would think the 95-year-old activist would take her rest. This is not the way that “the Grandmother of Juneteenth” operates. The dream of commemorating the end of slavery from coast-to-coast became a reality in 2021 as the retired educator attended the White House ceremony as President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law.
“Juneteenth” commemorates the date that slaves in Texas were told of their emancipation, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. It was June 19, 1865, the announcement of “General Order No. 3“ by Union Army General Gordon Granger, proclaimed freedom for enslaved people in Texas, the last state of the Confederacy with institutional slavery.
The young girl born in Marshall, Texas, and raised in Fort Worth, grew up with the yearly Juneteenth festivities that not only recognized the importance of full emancipation, but also the recognition of African American culture. In her classrooms and in the Fort Worth community, Mrs. Lee, who saw her childhood home burned to the ground by the Klan, stressed the importance of knowing the Black history and keeping it alive.
For decades, Opal Lee led walks of 2.5 miles, bringing attention to her national holiday campaign. This represented the two and a half years it took for the Emancipation Proclamation to reach Texas. In 2016, then-89-year-old Mrs. Opal began her symbolic walk, from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington, D.C., to make her case to the nation’s first Black president, Barack Obama. Although it did not become reality during the Obama administration, the diminutive activist persisted, via activities including online petitions and walks in states around the country. As she said in interviews, “It’s going to be a national holiday, I have no doubt about it. My point is let’s make it a holiday in my lifetime.”
Mrs. Lee’s activism continues. Saturday, June 18, she will continue “Opal’s Walk for Juneteenth,” her annual 2.5-mile walk, with supporters participating in person in various locations or virtually. For more information: https://opalswalk.com/
Weekend events will take place across the country. Sunday, CNN will broadcast “Juneteenth: A Global Celebration for Freedom.” Anchored by Don Lemon, the live Hollywood Bowl event will feature appearances by artists and political figures. The celebration will include the first all-Black orchestra in Hollywood Bowl history.
This is a good start as the self-described “little old lady in tennis shoes,“ would say. “ “We don’t want people to think that Juneteenth is a stopping point, because it isn’t,” Mrs. Lee said in an Associated Press interview. “It’s a beginning, and we’re going to address some of the disparities that we know exist.”
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(SOURCE: OPALSWALK.COM)
