Dr. Opal Lee: Grandmother of Juneteenth
The Vision Continues
By Candace Waller
The recognition of Juneteenth as a federal holiday is largely due to the tireless efforts of Dr. Opal Lee—a petite yet powerful woman who made it her mission to ensure the day received national acknowledgment. Here is her story:
Walking for Freedom
In 2016, at the age of 89, Dr. Lee launched Opal’s Walk Campaign, symbolically walking 2.5 miles in each of the 14 cities that invited her. Her goal was simple but profound: to draw attention to June 19, 1865, the day enslaved people in Texas finally learned they were free—more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
Dr. Lee first became aware of the date’s national significance from Dr. Ronald Myers, a board member on the National Juneteenth Foundation. The organization was actively working to have Juneteenth recognized as a holiday, and Dr. Lee immediately joined the cause.
“If people can be taught to hate, they can also be taught to love,” Dr. Lee said. “Each of us must appoint ourselves a committee of one to keep trying to teach that lesson over and over again until it takes hold.”
Making History
Dr. Lee’s perseverance, along with support from the National Juneteenth Foundation, led to a historic breakthrough. The 117th U.S. Congress enacted the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, and President Joe Biden signed it into law in 2021. Juneteenth became the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day, signed into law in 1983.
The name Juneteenth is a blend of “June” and “nineteenth,” commemorating the day Major General Gordon Granger arrived with troops, some from New Jersey and New York, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation in Galveston, Texas. That same year, the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, officially abolishing slavery.
A National Treasure
Now widely known as the Grandmother of Juneteenth, Dr. Lee continues to spread a message of love, unity, and historical awareness. She authored a children’s picture book titled Juneteenth: A Children’s Story, originally published in 2019 and later updated. While the book is available through various retailers, autographed copies are exclusively available through her website, opalswalk2dc.com/books.
In May 2024, Dr. Lee was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden. She was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022.
Last year, the NAACP-MEAB (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People-Metuchen-Edison Area Branch) hosted Dr. Lee in New Jersey—her first visit to the state. She spoke at several schools and public events, including a standing-room-only talk at the Piscataway Public Library, where she was interviewed by Enydia Haynes, a recent high school graduate.
“This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Haynes said. “Even though Dr. Lee and I might have an 80-year age gap, I learned a lot from her. She helped me understand that I can change the world through my actions, and that taking my college education seriously will pay off.
Champion for Education
Dr. Lee has long believed in the power of education. During her presentations, she shares that not completing college earlier in life was one of her greatest regrets—one she eventually overcame.
“After I graduated high school, I got married—to the disappointment of my mother,” she said. “I didn’t know that after four years and four babies, I’d have to raise my husband too.”
As a single mother, returning to school was difficult. Her mother offered to care for her children but couldn’t afford tuition. Despite these challenges, Dr. Lee graduated from Wiley College in Texas and has since championed the value of education, especially for young people.
Coming Full Circle
In a poetic turn of events, Dr. Lee recently moved back into the very home om Forth Worth, Texas her family was violently driven from in 1939 by an angry white mob who didn’t want a Black family in their neighborhood. The house, once destroyed in a hate-fueled attack, had come under the ownership of Habitat for Humanity.
“They did despicable and unthinkable things,” Dr. Lee said. “When I found out the house was owned by Habitat, I asked to buy it—and they said no. They decided to give it to me.”
She beamed as she recounted the emotional moment of reclaiming the past with pride.
The Legacy Lives On
Plans are now underway to build the National Juneteenth Museum in Dr. Lee’s hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. Her granddaughter, Dion Sims, shared that the state of Texas has already appropriated $10 million for the project. Readers can visit nationaljuneteenthmuseum.org to learn more and view the plans.
As of this publication, Dr. Lee, now 98, is recovering in the hospital. Her legacy lives on through the next generation. Sims now leads the annual 2.5-mile Opal’s Walk for Freedom on June 19 and has been by her grandmother’s side from the beginning. In 2019, Sims launched a Change.org petition in support of making Juneteenth a national holiday—it now has over 1.5 million signatures.
Looking ahead to 2026, a nationwide Opal’s Walk for Freedom is being planned to coincide with America’s 250th birthday. From now until August 2025, communities across the country can nominate their city to host the main event by sharing how their town embodies the spirit and legacy of Juneteenth.
“The main thing is that Juneteenth is about freedom for everybody, and we have to protect those freedoms,” Sims said. “Juneteenth as a national holiday is significant for our future because it allows us to talk about what happened in our past that has affected our present condition. It’s important for young people to understand the relevance of Juneteenth today because it is a tool they can use to create change—if they understand the power the holiday represents.”
