Hello everyone.  My name is Dr. Opal Lee.

I know many of you may not know who I am.

Well, let me tell you.

Today, I am known as the Grandmother of Juneteenth.  However, I was not always known by that name.  I was born in Marshall, Texas on October 10, 1926.

I have worked as a teacher, counselor, and an activist to make Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday.  

I first made the national headlines in 2016 when I was 89 years of age.  I walked more than 1,400 miles from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington, D.C.

I walked because I wanted to convince lawmakers to recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday.  Does anyone know what Juneteenth is?

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.

commemoration: a ceremony or celebration in which a person or event is remembered

It was on June 19, 1865 that soldiers landed in Galveston, Texas with the news that the Civil war ended, and enslaved people were now free.

To be enslaved means to make someone a slave.

It also means to cause someone to lose their freedom of choice or action.

Slaves were African Americans that were forced to work for free.  They were treated poorly, and they had no rights.  Does anyone know what it means to be African American?

Another word for African American is black.  Blacks were treated unfairly for the color of their skin.  Their entire families were slaves, even the little children.

Today, things have changed.  There is still a lot of work that has to be done.  That is why I walk, that is why I fight for the freedom of people.