Opal Lee had a scary time when she was 12. It was 1939. Black people were treated badly in the USA. Lee’s family moved into a house in Fort Worth, Texas. But the white neighbors did not want the Black family there. A white crowd gathered. They burned the house down.
Lee and her family were safe. They moved to another house. After that dark night, Lee went on to be a bright light. She was a teacher and a . She worked with charities. One was Habitat for Humanity. It builds homes for people.
Lee is called the “grandmother of Juneteenth.” Juneteenth marks the end of . But it wasn’t an official holiday. Lee worked to change that. She started doing walks to raise awareness. In 2016 — at age 89 — Lee traveled from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C. She did walks along the way. She wanted to ask President Barack Obama to make Juneteenth a holiday.
Lee brought attention to the celebration. And in 2021, her dream came true. President Joe Biden made Juneteenth a holiday. Lee was at the White House to see it happen. Biden gave her the pen he used to sign the law! Lee also went to a Juneteenth concert. “If people can be taught to hate, they can be taught to love,” Lee said.
In recent years, Lee thought back to that night in 1939. She found out that Habitat for Humanity owned the land her house had been on. Lee called the group’s leader, Gage Yager. She asked to buy back her family’s land. Yager said he would give it to her! And Habitat for Humanity would build her a house.
Lee said she felt like dancing. Her new house will be ready in 2024.
Updated January 5, 2023, 5:01 P.M. (ET)
By Ashley Morgan
