Mrs. Opal Lee has been recognized at the AFP Fort Worth’s 2020 National Philanthropy Day Awards and the International Peace Honors. She is currently advocating to make Juneteenth a federal holiday by organizing a “Freedom” walk and encouraging 3 million Americans to sign an online petition.
Join the millions of people who are petitioning the United States to make Juneteenth a National Holiday in 2021. Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, Liberation Day, or Emancipation Day, is the oldest annually and nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Mrs. Opal Lee, a 94-year-old activist and founding member of the Citizens Concerned with Human Dignity (CCHD), which was formed to assist the economically disadvantaged with finding housing in Fort Worth, is asking for 3 million Americans to sign a petition to honor a crucial time in African American history. Even though Juneteenth is a state or ceremonial holiday for 47 states and the District of Columbia, it has never been recognized as a federal holiday.
For over 40 years, Mrs. Lee has committed to keeping an essential part of history at the forefront of everyone’s minds and conversations. Along with many others, she continues to advocate for bigger celebrations commemorating June 19, 1865, The Day of Freedom. Juneteenth has been honored as the day that slaves in Texas realized that they were free people. She has dedicated her life to this mission and has brought national attention through sponsored events, such as a walking campaign from her home in Fort Worth to the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. During that event, NBCDFW Channel 5 News reported that “Mrs. Opal Lee led on foot a 2.5-mile caravan of cars to symbolize the two and a half years it took for slaves in Galveston, Texas to learn of their freedom granted in the Emancipation Proclamation,” which was issued to abolish slavery by Abraham Lincoln on Jan. 1, 1863.
Mrs. Opal Lee wrote a message on Change.org about the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, which is Legislation in Senate S.4019 and House H.R.7232 that has not been passed into law. According to govtrack.us and congress.gov, the bill has been introduced twice to the House of Representative and Senate. However, it was referred and still waiting on a vote from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Senate Judiciary Committee. Then, the bill will need to be voted on and passed into law to officially make Juneteenth a national holiday.
Mrs. Lee states on Change.org, “It is not lost on me that the summer of 2020 saw the largest support of Juneteenth to be a national holiday because of the death of George Floyd highlighted the systemic racism that still exists because of the residual effects of slavery. We can’t let the swell of support just simply disappear until the summer rolls around again. We have [to] make sure Congress follows through with their [commitment] to honor the lives of those who came before us.”
Please take a stand with Mrs. Opal Lee and sign the petition to recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday.
For more information about the Juneteenth Federal Holiday Petition or the amazing accomplishments and life of Mrs. Opal Lee, please visit the following resources: