Fort Worth leaders will be celebrating the life and accomplishments of Dr. Opal Lee, lovingly known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” on Thursday afternoon.
Lee, who will turn 100 years old in October, is recognized for her lifelong commitment to unity, freedom, community outreach, and fighting to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, which she achieved in 2021.
She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2024 for her efforts.
The North Texas icon holds a “Walk of Freedom” – walking two and a half miles every Juneteenth to symbolize the two and a half years it took for enslaved people in Texas to learn they were free, after the Emancipation Proclamation. She missed the 2025 walk because she was in the hospital…