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94-year-old Opal Lee Resumes Her Pursuit to Make Juneteenth a National Holiday

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Social impact leader Opal Lee,94, is very persistent in her mission to make Juneteenth a national holiday. Lee’s family commemorated Juneteenth when she was a little girl in Marshall, Texas.

June 19, 1865, is the day slaves in Texas acquired knowledge of their freedom. This was two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

At 89, Lee resolved to walk from her home now in Fort Worth to Washington D.C. It was  an attempt to get Juneteenth named a national holiday.

There’s also now a children’s book about her endeavors, a play, and an ongoing petition.

“None of us are free until we are all free. And we weren’t free on the Fourth of July in 1776. I’m advocating we celebrate from the 19th of June until the 4th of July. That would be celebrating freedom,” Lee said.

For more information about Lee’s journey and the petition, visit www.opalswalk2dc.com and www.juneteenthftw.com/petiton.



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