Episode 16: Opal Lee - The Grandmother of Juneteenth - Season of Opposition Ep 16

Brief History of Juneteenth

• June 19, 1865 – Over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that enslaved Black people were free.
  
  
• This day became known as Juneteenth, combining “June” and “nineteenth.”
  
  
• It marked the end of slavery in the last Confederate state, though Black Americans remained unfree in many other ways due to systemic racism and violence.
  
  

Juneteenth Traditions

• Rooted in Black joy, resistance, and remembrance.
  
  
• Celebrated with parades, readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, family reunions, red foods, and cultural performances.
  
  

National Recognition

• Long celebrated in Black communities, but not recognized nationally until June 17, 2021, when President Biden, flanked by Vice President Harris, declared it a federal holiday.
  
  

Honoring Opal Lee – the “Grandmother of Juneteenth”

• Born: 1926, Fort Worth, Texas.
  
  
• At age 89, Opal Lee walked from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C. to campaign for Juneteenth to become a national holiday.
  
  
• She walked 2.5 miles each day to symbolize the 2.5 years it took for freedom to reach Texas after the Emancipation Proclamation.
  
  
• Her decades-long activism led to widespread support and ultimately helped secure federal recognition of Juneteenth.
  
  

Celebrate Her Legacy

• Read her story: Juneteenth: A Children’s Story (she’s also an author).
  
  
• Walk in her honor.
  
  
• Share her message: “None of us are free until we’re all free.”
  
  

What does freedom mean to you today—and how can you make it real for someone else?

Voting is your right! Overseas? Find a resistance event near you: Democrats Abroad Resists and sort out your voter registration and ballot requests: votefromabroad.org. In the US? iwillvote.com.