Activist and teacher Opal Lee is best known for her groundbreaking work in the movement to make Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday, but she prefers a simpler title.

“I’m your grandma,” she said. “Think of me as your grandma. A little lady in tennis shoes getting into everybody’s business and having a really good time doing it.”

Often called the Grandmother of Juneteenth, Lee is still active as ever at 96. E&J Brandy had the great honor of sitting down with her in 2022 for a conversation that covered her life, her work, and her determination for the future. 

As a Texas native, Juneteenth has always held a special place in Lee’s heart. After all, the state is intensely tied to the history of emancipation in this country.

“Texas is so large that word didn’t get to people in Texas that President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863, and it wasn’t until General Gordon Granger and some 7,000 Black troops made their way to Galveston and told people that the enslaved were free,” Lee explains. “Now General Granger nailed this order, General Order No. 3, to the church door, and when the people came in from work and they read that there, they started celebrating—and we’ve been celebrating ever since.”

Lee is an integral figure in taking that celebration nationwide, and creating the nationally recognized Juneteenth we know today. The story of today’s Juneteenth and the story of Opal Lee are intertwined; and to tell it, we have to start at the end. 

Discover her legacy through our illustrated timeline, from the official recognition of Juneteenth to her community roots in Marshall, Texas.

June 17, 2021
President Joe Biden signs Senate Bill S. 475, officially designating Juneteenth the eleventh federal holiday. The occasion commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States, and falls on the date that a Union general issued a proclamation freeing slaves in Texas—Opal Lee’s home state.

Lee is at the White House to see the bill signed into law, and meets the President.

“I was so humbled, and I still pinch myself to see if it really happened,” she said. “I’m still so grateful. He said something to me and everybody wants to know what it is…but I’m keeping that to myself.”

The bill is a huge triumph, and leads to Juneteenth celebrations across the country.

One day, however, isn’t enough. Lee believes that Juneteenth should be celebrated from June 19 until the Fourth of July.

“The aftereffects of slavery are still haunting our country and we must do something about it; we’ve got so many disparages that we need to address, and it’s going to take all of us working together to get it done,” she said. “That’s why I advocate we celebrate from the 19th of June until the Fourth. We just spread it out. I like a good festival, you know—but more time to celebrate means there’s so much more we can do.”

September 2016
After decades of campaigning to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, Lee leads a symbolic 1,400-mile walk from Fort Worth to Washington D.C. and arrives there in January 2017. Lee and her team are invited to stop and celebrate in various cities along the way, from Denver to St. Louis to Chicago to Atlanta. She is 89.

“I felt I hadn’t done enough,” she said. “So I decided, and I gathered some people at my church, and they gave me a sendoff. I tell everybody, make yourself a committee of one. Change somebody’s mind. There are so many small things we can do that bring us together.”

2000
Lee founds Unity Unlimited, Inc. The organization was created to “provide resources, activities, and connections to support the cause of unity and harmony within the communities of Fort Worth, the state of Texas, America, and the world.”

“I want to let people know we are one people,” Lee said. “We all bleed red blood. I just want people to be aware that working together to get rid of the disparages in our country is foremost. We are the ones who need to get this done, and I stress that young people will be able to carry us forward. We are first class citizens, we are free, and none of us are free until we’re all free. When we realize that, we’ll work hard to make it a reality.”

1980s
Lee begins a tradition in which Fort Worth city leaders visit underserved areas of the city, guided by her and including a commentary of locations notable to Forth Worth’s minority communities.

1970s
Opal Lee joins friend Lenora Rolla in founding the Tarrant County Black Historical and Genealogical Society. The organization hosts Juneteenth celebrations in Fort Worth’s Sycamore Park.

“The paper said there were 30,000 of us in a three-day period,” Lee said “We knew they would pull the plug and we would have to go home at 10 pm. But one of those times they pulled the plug, I got on a flatbed truck and put that plug back in and we partied till dawn. That was a memorable Juneteenth.”

Lee also helps found Citizens Concerned with Human Dignity, which assists the economically disadvantaged with housing in Forth Worth.

May 1953
Lee graduates from Wiley College in Marshall, and receives her Bachelor’s degree in elementary education. She later attends North Texas State University, earning her Master’s Degree in Counseling and Guidance. Upon graduation, she returns to Fort Worth and works as an educator until she retires in 1977. During her 15 years of public education, she is widely considered one of the best in her field.

1926-1943
Lee remembers her childhood in Marshall including celebrations of Juneteenth, which is not yet a federal holiday. The family relocates to Fort Worth in 1936.

“We all went to the fairgrounds, and there was music and food, there were games and food, there were speeches and food and food and food,” she said. “It was like Christmas. We had such a good time.”

October 7, 1926
The oldest child of Mattie and Otis Flake is born in Marshall, Texas. They name her Opal.

KEEP UP WITH THE GRANDMOTHER OF JUNETEENTH

Opal Lee’s mission is far from over—and so is yours.

“I still feel like I have something to contribute!” she said. “We have so much to contribute. Young people need to know the things that happened to us, and it’s for us to encourage them to make this the best country in the world that will be a beacon of light for others.”

Lee’s current projects include a children’s book, voter registration activism, and several museums dedicated to Black history in the United States. Explore her efforts, and see how you can get involved, below.

Juneteenth, A Children’s Story.
Lee’s illustrated book helps children discover the history of Juneteenth. Find it here.

Opal’s Walk 2023
Register for Lee’s 2023 Juneteenth walk, which you can complete from anywhere. Get more information here.

Fort Worth African American Museum
If you’re located in Texas, keep an eye out for updates on the planned African American Museum in Forth Worth. Project news and information can be found here.

1012 N. Main Street
Lee is associated with this organization, which is dedicated to building the Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing. Learn more about the project here.

Nobel Prize Nomination
In 2022, Lee was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize Award. Read about the nomination here.

Regardless of how you do it, says Lee, there’s a role for everyone in making our world better.

“It’s for everybody,” she said. “Show them the way. Turn it into something positive. Get the people to the polls. None of us are free until we’re all free, and we’re not free yet.”

Like the spotlight? Have a message for the Grandmother of Juneteenth? Let us know in the comments below.