Opal Lee: the grandmother of “Juneteenth”

Known as the “grandmother of Juneteenth,” Opal Lee’s journey of social activism began when a mob of white rioters burned down her family home on the Juneteenth of 1939. Lee was only 12 at the time, but the event spurred her on to raise awareness of the holiday and its significance to the African American community. Juneteenth is one of the oldest celebrations of the abolition of slavery. It is also a way for African American families to connect with each other and their culture through food, music, and the works of artists and leaders such as Maya Angelou and Ralph Ellison. 

Lee graduated from the University of North Texas and became an educator for the Fort Worth Independent School District, where she worked for more than 15 years before retiring in 1976. Since then, Lee was involved in various local causes and established the nonprofit organization Unity Unlimited Inc., which continues to provide educational activities and resources to communities across the nation to foster racial harmony and awareness of ongoing tensions and issues. 

At 89 years old, Lee continued to campaign for Juneteenth on a national scale by walking from her home town of Fort Worth in Texas to Washington D.C., spending months traveling on the road. She ultimately reached the capital in January of 2017, where she hoped to convince former President Obama to add Juneteenth as a national holiday. However, the holiday would not be federally recognized until 2021 under President Biden. In spite of the delay, Lee never faltered in her belief that Juneteenth would eventually be endorsed, asserting her commitment under a petition on change.org to make Juneteenth a national holiday in 2021. The petition managed to amass more than 1.6 million followers, and received positive attention from celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez and Usher, among others. 

Lee’s efforts culminated in the signing of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act in 2021, which established Juneteenth as a new federal holiday, and Lee personally attended the signing of the bill alongside President Biden. Juneteenth has now become the first federal holiday to be added since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983, and over 33 members of Congress have agreed to nominate Lee for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, representing another step taken for ongoing social progress and the remediation of racial grievances.