

Lee Article: "What is Juneteenth?"įounded in 1959, Trinity Valley School is a PK-12, co-ed, independent school located in Fort Worth, Texas. Opal Lee and Juneteenth, click on the links below: Opal Lee, 94, was at the centre of a campaign to recognise Juneteenth as a national holiday in the US Opal Lee was 12 when a mob of white supremacists vandalised and set fire to her familys home. She returned to school and obtained her Master's degree in counseling and guidance from North Texas State University and served as home/school counselor for Fort Worth Independent School District until she retired in 1977. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1953 from Wiley College (now Wiley University). Lee: "Opal Lee was born Octoin Marshall, Texas. Lee will share about the many roles she played in shaping history, including making Juneteenth a national holiday.Ībout Dr. Lee will be joined by Lower School students for a reading of her book Juneteenth: A Children's Story. as Congress passed the bill recognizing Juneteenth as a federal holiday, 45 years after her work began.ĭr.

Lee became involved in Fort Worth community causes including organizing the annual Juneteenth Celebration in 2021, Dr.
OPAL LEE JUNETEENTH FULL
Juneteenth recognizes the day federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to ensure all enslaved people were to be freed, a full two-and-one-half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Opal Lee spent her life championing the cause to make "Juneteenth" a federal holiday. Opal, she gained national attention in 2016, when at 89, she began a 1,400-mile trek from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C., to petition for the recognition of Juneteenth as a national holiday. A retired educator and counselor, Opal Lee has dedicated much of her life to preserving the history of Juneteenth.
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President Biden signed the bill Thursday. Lee, commonly known as the "Grandmother of Juneteenth," will join our students in all three divisions, Upper, Middle, and Lower Schools during her campus visit.ĭr. WHO IS OPAL LEE National Juneteenth Museum. Opal Lee, shown earlier this month, is celebrating this week's passage of legislation making Juneteenth a federal holiday. On March 11, Trinity Valley School will welcome Fort Worth icon, Dr.
