The story of Opal Lee: Who is the ‘Grandmother of Juneteenth’ and who wrecked her home?
Columnist Bud Kennedy has written about Fort Worth activist Opal Lee since 2015, when she talked publicly for the first time about the Juneteenth 1939 attack by a white mob that ransacked her family’s home and destroyed their possessions.
Here are some archive columns to read to catch up on the story of Lee, the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” and the holiday:
The first retelling of the 1939 white mob attack
▪ 2015, the first time the Star-Telegram told the story of the 1939 attack, which Lee had been shy about telling: “”For Opal Lee, Juneteenth is more than a license plate.”
Opal’s first ‘walk to D.C.’ to campaign for a holiday
▪ 2017, the story of her first “Walk to D.C.,” when she told NPR, ““I just thought if a little old lady in tennis shoes was out there walking, somebody would take notice”: “Home from ‘walk to D.C.,’ Opal Lee, 90, sets sights on Trump”
The Union general behind Juneteenth, and his sweeping order
▪ 2018, the story of Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, whose Juneteenth order was stronger than his commander had ordered: “Gen. Granger freed the slaves on Juneteenth, but who was he? Hero ordered ‘equality’ ”
80 years later, Opal starts telling her story
▪ 2020, an interview with Lee after one of the first times she publicly told the story of Juneteenth 1939 in a speech: “She was 12 when whites smashed her home. Now, Juneteenth leader Opal Lee walks for unity”
Organizer of the white mob: a Fort Worth eccentric
▪ 2021, the story of the villain of the 1939 white mob attack on Opal Lee’s family home, a Confederate soldier’s son who was night watchman at flamboyant pastor J. Frank Norris’ Baptist church: “When Hollywood makes an Opal Lee movie, this Fort Worth man will be the villain”
Opal talks to her fellow retired teachers
▪ 2023, a Lee speech to her peers and fellow retired Fort Worth schoolteachers: “In Fort Worth, Opal Lee meets those who know her best: fellow teachers and ex-students”
This story was originally published June 18, 2023 at 10:53 AM.
