Who Inspires Me? Opal Lee
A one-year new holiday commemorating Juneteenth, sort for June 19th, an event many outside of Texas didn’t know about before last year. A momentous event we might still not know about—and definitely wouldn’t be celebrating if it were not for the actions of one determined then 94-year-old woman: Opal Lee
Opal Lee walked from Fort Worth Texas to Washington DC— “a little old lady in tennis shoes”—2 1/2 miles at a stretch, to commemorate the 2 1/2 years it took for word of the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all enslaved people free, to finally reached Texas.
When Opal arrived at the Capitol on September 23, 2020, she delivered to Congress a petition to declare Juneteenth a holiday with 1.5 million signatures. Watch a Video About Opal Lee’s Walk here!
“ None of us are free until we’re all free.”
Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 that word of the Emancipation Proclamation finally reached enslaved Texans—two years and six months after President Abraham Lincoln issued it—making Texas one of the last states to legally abolish slavery. In 1980, thanks to activist Opal Lee and others, Texas declared Juneteenth a statewide holiday.
In 2021, when President Biden declared Juneteenth a federal holiday, Opal Lee, called “The Grandmother of Juneteenth” was there!
For more about how Juneteenth came to be—and why—read/share Opal’s picture book, The Real Opal Lee
And for more about Opal enjoy Alice Fay Duncan and Keturah A Bobo’s picture book biography, Opal Lee and What it Means to be Free.
Even more: Maya Smart has curated an excellent list of Juneteenth Picture Books!
