The activist, social worker, and educator made national headlines for her decades-long advocacy to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.
On Friday, May 3, President Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Dr. Opal Lee, also known as the Grandmother of Juneteenth, for her efforts in establishing Juneteenth as a national holiday.
Dr. Lee was one of 19 other people who received the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the President of the United States to honor “an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.” Other recipients include civil rights activist Medgar Evers, former Vice President Al Gore, and Clarence B. Jones, an activist and lawyer who helped write the famous “I Have A Dream” speech.
“These nineteen Americans built teams, coalitions, movements, organizations, and businesses that shaped America for the better,” the White House said in a statement. “They are the pinnacle of leadership in their fields. They consistently demonstrated over their careers the power of community, hard work, and service.”
June 19th, colloquially known as “Juneteenth” or “Freedom Day,” commemorates the day the last enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, were informed that they had been set free. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863; however, the news of freedom did not reach Texas until two and a half years later, when Major General Gordon Granger announced General Order No. 3 to the people of Galveston on June 19, 1865.
In 2016, at age 89, Lee walked over 1,400 miles from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C., to call on lawmakers to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, walking two and a half miles at a time to honor the two and a half years it took Gen. Granger to arrive in Texas.
Lee has been fighting for equality and justice since she was a young girl. On Juneteenth 1939, she was just twelve years old when a mob of white supremacists burned down her home. Throughout her life of activism, she’s helped establish the Tarrant County Black Historical and Genealogical Society, documenting Fort Worth, Texas’ Black history, and became a founding member of Citizens Concerned with Human Dignity. She also started the Fort Worth Juneteenth Museum, soon to become the National Juneteenth Museum. She’s the recipient of eight honorary doctoral degrees, and in 2022, Lee was nominated by Congress for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Now, at 97 years old, she continues to educate the nation about the significance of Juneteenth and Black American history, particularly children, with the publication of her children’s book, Juneteenth: A Children’s Story.
President Biden made Juneteenth an official holiday in 2021, making Juneteenth the most recent national holiday to be established. The last federally recognized holiday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, established in 1983. Lee was present at the president’s side during the signing of the bill.
Cover Photo: Dr. Opal Lee, ‘Grandmother of Juneteenth,’ Honored With Presidential Medal of Freedom / Photo credit: Alex Brandon/ AP
What a hero she is. Thanks for making me aware of this lady.