An 89-year-old activist pushed to make Juneteenth a federal holiday

In 2016, Opal Lee began a 1,400-mile walk from her home in Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C., in hopes of meeting with President Barak Obama about creating a national holiday for Juneteenth. She walked in 14 states and Washington, D.C.

A retired teacher and counselor, she has been dubbed “the grandmother of Juneteenth.” Lee had been campaigning for the holiday for decades before she began her walk.

When President Biden signed the bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday, the then 94-year-old Lee was front and center at the White House ceremony (second from left, in white dress) and later received a standing ovation when introduced by the president.

This year, as she has done every year, Lee marked Juneteenth with a 2.5-mile Walk for Freedom through the streets of Fort Worth.