Opal Lee, the activist known as the ‘Grandmother of Juneteenth,’ marked her 100th birthday with a museum groundbreaking in Fort Worth, celebrating a century of tireless advocacy.
The celebration in Fort Worth this Wednesday was more than a birthday party; it was a physical manifestation of a century’s worth of persistence. As Opal Lee turned 100. the woman affectionately known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth” stood at the center of her hometown to break ground on a project that aims to anchor the history of American freedom for generations to come.
The site will eventually house the National Juneteenth Museum, a sprawling 50,000-square-foot facility situated in a historic Black neighborhood. With a projected opening in 2029. the institution marks a significant milestone for a woman who has spent decades ensuring that the end of slavery in the United States remains firmly in the national consciousness.
Lee. wearing a flower lei and surrounded by her family and friends. reacted to the day’s developments—including a $3 million donation from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—with characteristic spirit. “I’m so happy I could do a holy dance. and these old legs won’t respond. but let me tell you how thankful I am and that this deed won’t go unnoticed. ” she told the crowd. Later that day. October 7. former First Lady Michelle Obama was scheduled to join museum leadership to honor Lee’s lifelong work.
Her influence stretches back long before federal recognition arrived. When President Joe Biden signed the bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021, Lee was standing right beside him. The holiday commemorates the day in 1865 when Union soldiers reached Galveston to declare freedom for enslaved people in Texas—a moment occurring roughly two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation and six months before the 13th Amendment permanently abolished slavery.
In Fort Worth. where she worked for decades as a teacher. counselor. and activist. Lee’s commitment was local before it became national. She organized parades, festivals, and community celebrations, turning childhood memories of Juneteenth music and food into a lifelong mission. “Long before there were historic walks. cameras. books and well-deserved national acclaim. my childhood memories are filled with you making sure that Fort Worth remembered. ” U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee H. Toliver noted during the event. “You always reminded us that history is not something you leave behind, it’s something you actively protect.”.
The location of the new museum carries a weight all its own. It sits near a home Lee built just a few years ago on the same corner lot from which her family was driven by a racist mob when she was 12. On Juneteenth in 1939. after the family moved into a white neighborhood. hundreds of people descended on their home. smashing windows and destroying furniture.
For Jarred Howard, the museum’s CEO, the timing of the groundbreaking was essential. “It was important for us to do this on this date because everything we’ve done for the last several years, everything we continue to do, is built around the spirit of the venerable Miss Opal Lee,” Howard said.
What began as a childhood trauma has been transformed into a career of activism, and today, that cycle reaches a quiet, monumental resolution. With the museum now under construction, the history that Lee spent a century protecting has finally found a permanent home.
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