Opal Lee, ‘Grandmother of Juneteenth,’ recovering after hospitalization in Ohio
Opal Lee, the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” is recovering after she was hospitalized last week in Cincinnati, Ohio, according to a statement released by her family.
Lee, 98, was in Ohio to be honored with the International Freedom Conductor Award at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, which was originally scheduled for May 25.
A statement this week from Unity Unlimited, a nonprofit that produces Fort Worth’s Juneteenth celebration, said Dr. Lee “is recovering from a hospital stay and looking forward to returning home to Texas.”
The annual Opal’s Walk for Freedom, which was held in Dallas last year, is returning to Fort Worth, according to the statement. It will be held at Farrington Field, at 1501 University Drive, on Thursday, June 19.
“Although I am unable to return the many texts and calls I have received over the past few days, please know that each one is appreciated; I am truly grateful for your concern and good wishes,” Lee said in a statement on her Facebook page.
Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States on June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation, which President Lincoln had signed more than two years earlier.
In 2016, Lee began her campaign for Juneteenth to be recognized as a national holiday with a symbolic walk to Washington, D.C. Lee was 89 at the time and crossed over 14 states and 1,400 miles.
In 2021, Lee was in attendance when President Joe Biden signed a bill making Juneteenth a national holiday.
“My Granddear is a trailblazer who has carved out a path for us to follow,” Dione Sims, Opal Lee’s granddaughter and president and founder of Unity Unlimited, said in the statement Sunday. “This year, she is really encouraging us to step up, take ownership of her legacy, and keep pushing for what Juneteenth represents. It’s a celebration of human dignity — and it’s our responsibility to carry that forward. We must take the baton and keep moving forward in support of the national holiday.”
