Opal Lee, known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” will not participate in this year’s Juneteenth walk following a hospitalization.
Lee, 98, was hospitalized last month for an undisclosed reason in Ohio on a trip to mark the 30th anniversary of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Dione Sims, Lee’s granddaughter, said Lee is recovering at home, and her family wants her to rest.
Sims will instead take the reins Thursday. Sims is the president and founder of the nonprofit Unity Unlimited, which provides education opportunities to support unity and harmony, and she has helped produce Juneteenth celebrations with Lee.
Sims said her grandmother told her it was time for her to lead. “You got it,” she said Lee told her.
Juneteenth recognizes the day in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston to inform enslaved people of their freedom, about 2½ years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
In 2016, Lee made her way from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C., walking 2½ miles in several cities along the way to represent the 2½ years it took for news of emancipation to reach Galveston. In 2021, President Joe Biden, with Lee at his side, signed into law a bill declaring Juneteenth a national holiday.
Since then, the walks have drawn thousands in Fort Worth and Dallas, which hosted last year’s event. Juneteenth walks have popped up around the world, from Tokyo to Los Angeles. Next year, the walk is slated for Washington, D.C.
Thursday’s walk will begin at 9 a.m. at Farrington Field, 1501 University Drive in Fort Worth. Registration is online.
Staff writer Zacharia Washington contributed to this report.
Check out was real simple, can't wait for the tote bag