Early Life 

Opal Lee was born Opal Flake in Marshall, Texas on October 7, 1926. When she was ten years old, her family moved from Marshall to Fort Worth. Two years later, after relocating within Fort Worth, Lee and her family were subject to hateful threats because the people in the area did not want a Black family there. The day after moving in, 500 white rioters ransacked her home and burned it down. Lee says the fact that this tragedy occurred on Juneteenth was one of the roots of her activism specifically as it pertains to Juneteenth and its meaning. While this event in Lee's life was devastating, it helped shaped who we know her to be today.

Education

Lee attended I.M Terrell High School and graduated at the age of 16. After high school, Lee graduated from Wiley College in 1952. She became a teacher. During her career, she met her husband, and they married in 1967. She earned a master's degree in counseling from North Texas State University and retired from teaching in 1977.

Activism

After retirement Lee began focusing on her activism. She started Opal's Farm where she planted fields to supply food banks with fresh food and employed formerly incarcerated people who struggled to find other jobs. Later, she became a member of the Tarrant County Black Historical and Genealogical Society. This group organized a Juneteenth celebration in Fort Worth, Texas that had a turnout of over 30,000 people.

Her activism that began to draw the most national attention was a serious of walks from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington D.C. which she set off for at 89 years of age. The goal was to draw attention and raise awareness so that legislators could recognize Juneteenth and its meaning. During the time the walks occurred in 2016, Lee created a petition to make Juneteenth a national holiday. She was hoping for 100,000 signatures on the petition, and it ended up getting over 1.5 million. She ended the walk in January of 2017, but relaunched her campaign in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to come to a pause. In 2021, President Biden signed a bill to declare Juneteenth as a federal holiday. Lee was commemorated for her extensive efforts. Lee was given the nickname "The Grandmother of Juneteenth" for her efforts and how successful she was. She became a Nobel Peace Prize nominee in 2022. She did not win, but in May of 2024 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.