‘Grandmother of Juneteenth,’ Opal Lee, hospitalized in Cincinnati

The video above is from FOX19 NOW’s media partners’ previous coverage in 2021.

CINCINNATI (WXIX) – Dr. Opal Lee, the woman known for her significant role in making Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday, is currently in the hospital.

Lee, 98, was hospitalized late last week in the Greater Cincinnati Area, according to Cincinnati Museum Center’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications Cody Hefner.

Although he cannot say why she was hospitalized, Hefner says Lee has made a recovery and is “doing well.”

He tells FOX19 NOW that Lee was in town for the Freedom Center’s 30th Anniversary celebration Friday.

Known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” Lee grew up in Texas and became a strong advocate for equality.

She is best known for her persistence when it came to recognizing the freedom that came from the major historical event that happened June 19, 1865 – the day Union soldiers arrived to Galveston, Texas to report that all enslaved people are free.

One of the ways Lee campaigned for Juneteenth recognition was through her annual walking campaign from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington, DC.

She started the campaign at 89 years old and walked 2.5 miles in cities across the country because it took 2.5 years for Texas to free enslaved people after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

In June 2021, the U.S. observed its first Juneteenth as a federal holiday after former President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act two days prior.

Lee was at the signing that day, and said, “Now we can celebrate freedom from the 19th of June to the 4th of July,” according to the National Women’s History Museum.

While Lee has previously committed to celebrating Juneteenth in Texas this year, Hefner says the Freedom Center plans to bring her back to Cincinnati in the fall to honor her with International Freedom Conductor Award, which was originally scheduled for May 25.

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