Opal Lee: The Grandmother of Juneteenth

Fort Worth is home to a lot of history and even history makers. 

Longtime Fort Worth resident Opal Lee, known as the "Grandmother of Juneteenth." has drawn attention to June 19 with a 2.5-mile walk in major cities, choosing the distance as a reminder that it took 2.5 years after the Emancipation Proclamation for the news to reach South Texas. Her efforts gained national attention in 2016, when at age 89, she began a 1,400-mile walk from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C., to petition for the recognition of Juneteenth as a national holiday. More than a million people signed the petition. 

This year's Walk for Freedom starts at 9 a.m. Thursday at Fort Worth's Farrington Field. Following a recent hospitalization at the age of 98, Opal Lee's granddaughter Dion Sims will carry on her grandmother's tradition this year.

We have been honored to welcome Ms. Opal to Cook Children's on at least three different occasions where she has met and read to our patients.

Last year, we greeted the Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient again when she visited Cook Children’s Medical Center – Fort Worth with her granddaughter, Dione Sims, Executive Director Unity Unlimited, Inc., to discuss the importance of Juneteenth and its impact on children. 

Ms. Opal shared with the audience that Juneteenth is important because it addresses many different issues, including encouraging children to reach for their dreams. 

“Fourth of July freed the land, Juneteenth freed the people,” she said.

Dione said that Juneteenth is not “just a date on the calendar." It brings people together and gives people hope. 

“The freedom that Juneteenth represents… we need children to think about greater things helps shape where they’re going and gives them the ability to think outside the box,” Dione said. 

Of her grandmother, Dione said: “She is a poster child for unity, strength, resilience and for overcoming childhood adversity and trauma. To such a degree, that there is no better icon."

What is the Juneteenth National Independence Day holiday? 

“On June 17, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. signed into law the bill that established Juneteenth National Independence Day, June 19, as a legal public holiday. 

“Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the date Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and delivered General Order No. 3 announcing the end of legalized slavery in Texas. 

“Historically, it has been a holiday celebrated by people of African descent in the United States, as well as people in Canada, Jamaica, Nigeria, the United Kingdom, and other countries throughout the world. 

“Juneteenth is also a ‘symbolic date’ representing the African American struggle for freedom and equality, and a celebration of family and community,” according to the Library of Congress. 

How is Juneteenth celebrated? 
Juneteenth celebrations in the United States typically include prayer and religious services, speeches, educational events, family gatherings and picnics, and festivals with food, music, and dancing, according to Brittanica. 

Red foods and drinks, such as watermelon, red velvet cake, red soda, and hibiscus tea, are sometimes on the menu because the color is a symbol of ingenuity and resilience in bondage, according to The New York Times. 

Opal Lee has said she hopes Juneteenth becomes a day of service. She encourages people to do one kind act for someone and hopes that the holiday will encourage people to talk about what is needed to end racial disparities, according to Time. 

Tell me more about the National Juneteenth Museum in Fort Worth. 

The National Juneteenth Museum is under construction near Cook Children’s Medical Center-Fort Worth, in the historic Southside neighborhood on the corner of Rosedale Street and Evans Avenue. 

The 50,000 square-foot cultural center “will be a knowledge hub, creating awareness and deepening the understanding of Juneteenth’s impact on the future of the African American community and the nation. 

“It will be a curated experience center to educate guests on the legacy and experiences of the enslaved and provide factual narratives about people who overcame the trials and hardships of oppression,” according to the Museum.