“If people can be taught to hate, they can be taught to love. But we need to know, you can’t erase history. So, let’s learn from it and be damned sure it doesn’t happen again.”
– Opal Lee
Opal Lee
Opal Lee was born on October 7th, 1926, in Marshall, Texas. She was only three generations removed from her enslaved ancestors – her great grandmother on her father’s side was born into slavery.
This was a time of strict segregation and extreme racial violence from white supremacists and terrorist organizations like the Ku Klux Klan. During the 1920s at least 281 Blacks were lynched throughout the country. White supremacists burnt down Black schools, churches, businesses and houses, intimidated Black voters, enforced Jim Crow laws and much more.
When Lee was 10, the family moved to Fort Worth, Texas. Two years later, in June of 1939, at the age of 12, the family moved to Sycamore Park, a predominantly white neighborhood in Fort Worth. On June 19th (Juneteenth), a day that was supposed to be filled with joy and celebration, Opal Lee and her family experienced a traumatic and unfortunately common event. A mob of approximately 500 white supremacists destroyed their home, all because they didn’t want a black family living in the neighborhood. Lee and her family were able to escape physically unharmed, but the emotional trauma would affect them for years to come. No one was arrested and justice was denied – a recurring theme for many Black Americans throughout this country’s history. While being interviewed for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Lee said, "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." This event made her realize that racism was a barrier to true freedom for Black Americans, so she dedicated her life to teaching and activism.
After graduating from Wiley College in 1952 with a degree in elementary education, she dedicated her life to teaching, counseling and inspiring students. But more than education, she was dedicated to activism. She was involved in multiple community organizations like Tarrant County Black Historical and Genealogical Society, and even started her own nonprofit organization in 1994 called Unity Unlimited Inc. Their mission was “Providing educational activities and resources to people, young and old, to foster unity and harmony within the community, the city, the state, the nation and the world regardless of race, culture or denomination and regardless of the form in which the events may be presented, including but not limited to workshops, expositions, concerts, rallies and lectures.” Lee is also a board member of Transform 1012 N. Main Street, which is converting a former Ku Klux Klan auditorium into The Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing, named after Rouse who was lynched by a white mob in 1921 in Fort Worth. Lee also spent decades organizing Juneteenth celebrations in Fort Worth.
“We have simply got to make people aware that none of us are free until we’re all free, and we aren’t free yet.”
– Opal Lee
In 2016, Lee championed the cause to make Juneteenth a national holiday by walking two-and-a-half miles a day in multiple cities from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C. The two-and-a-half miles represented the years between the Emancipation Proclamation and General Orders No. 3. Lee said she thought about her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren with every step. She also started an online petition which garnered 1.6 million signatures. Her efforts gained her the nickname “grandmother of Juneteenth,” and on June 18, 2021, she sat in the White House and watched President Joe Biden sign Senate Bill 475 that made Juneteenth a federal holiday. That simple swipe of the pen would never have been possible without the dedication, determination and passion from people like Opal Lee. Because of her courageous efforts, she was voted “Texan of the Year” in 2021, nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 and awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2024 (Our nation’s highest civilian honor).
