Awesome Woman Leads Crusade for Juneteenth Holiday

Opal Lee has been on a crusade to make June 19th (Juneteenth) a National Holiday for many years. The 94-year-old is known as the Grandmother of Juneteenth.

Juneteenth is the day that enslaved people were freed in Texas in 1865 after the Civil War. Texas was the last state in the confederacy to free its slaves. This was three years after the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the confederacy. 

It is the oldest African American holiday that has been celebrated in the African American community, but not on a national level. On this day African Americans partake in delicious foods like black-eyed peas, collard greens, and red velvet cake. 

They also have parades and block parties to celebrate this holiday. There are also the Miss Juneteenth pageants which showcase young black women and culture. This year Precious Maku was crown 2021 Miss Juneteenth Fort Worth. 

Opal Lee has spent her life advocating for the African-American community and for Juneteenth to be a National holiday. She really gained some traction in 2016 when she walked from Fort Worth to Washington DC. She felt that there was something more that she could do. Each day she would walk two miles and a half to represent the time in which the black slaves of Texas waited to be freed. 

This year on June 17th, President Biden signed into law that Juneteenth is a Federal holiday. Opal Lee was there when President Biden signed it into action. He even spoke about her in his speech, “You are an incredible woman, Ms. Opal. You really are,”.

Here is a quote from activist and educator Opal Lee:

“I have persistence in my DNA. There’s absolutely nothing that I start that I don’t want to finish. I gotta finish this.”

Be Amazing! 🍋