When she was 12, her childhood home was burned to the ground by white neighbors on June 19, 1939, because her family was Black.
From trekking on foot from Fort Worth to DC to raise awareness about Juneteenth in 2016 to attending the president’s signing of a law recognizing Juneteenth as a national holiday in 2021, Texan Opal Lee continues to leave her footprint in history.
It was in June 2016 at age 89 that Lee decided she wanted to make Juneteenth a nationally recognized holiday, which led to hercampaign. For that, she walked 2.5 miles in a different city to represent the two and a half years it took for enslaved people to be freed in Texas after the Emancipation Proclamation. Since then, she has made the walk an annual event.
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Meet Opal Lee, the 'grandmother of the movement' to make Juneteenth a federal holidayOpal Lee walked from Texas to D.C. to bring attention to Juneteenth.
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Grandmother of Juneteenth Opal Lee holds annual Walk for Freedom in DallasOpal Lee, who is now 97 years old, fought for years to have Juneteenth as a nationally recognized holiday.
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Opal Lee, Grandmother of Juneteenth, gets keys to Fort Worth homeThe Grandmother of Juneteenth – who lost her house on the same lot to a racist mob 85 years ago – smiled as she took the key to the 1,700-square-feet, three-bed...
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Opal Lee kicks off another year of Juneteenth celebrationsThe month will mean a lineup of Juneteenth events, including new editions like a film festival and a closing weekend of concerts with national recording artists. A key difference this year is the annual walk’s location.
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To Meet Or Not To Meet: That Is The QuestionI’m a Boston Consulting Group managing director and partner, founder of BCG’s Behavioral Science Lab, and leader of our network of behavioral scientists. I serve as a member of the BCG Change Management leadership team.
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Opal's Walk for Freedom set to take place in DallasOpal Lee will once again lead the symbolic 'Walk for Freedom' here in North Texas on Wednesday morning.
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