The Grandmother of Juneteenth

If Juneteenth (19 June) became a federal holiday in the U.S.A., it was partly in thanks to a remarkable retired schoolteacher and activist, Opal Lee, who is now 98. She petitioned Congress and the White House for five years to achieve her goal.

Juneteenth marks the day when the most distant part of the United States received news of the end of slavery. On 19 June 1865, the enslaved people of Galveston, Texas finally discovered that Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation had actually freed them two-and-a-half years earlier. On 17 June 2021, it became a federal holiday in the U.S.

Juneteenth has long been celebrated in Texas, and by African-Americans more and more widely.

Miss Opal
Opal Lee has been an activist most of her life, helping those in her community who are hungry, poor or homeless.

She would have good reason for hating Juneteenth, as that was the day in 1939 when white rioters destroyed 12-year-old Opal's family home because a black family had had the temerity to buy a house in a predominantly white neighbourhood of Fort Worth, Texas.

But that isn't Opal Lee's style. She always participated in Juneteenth, and did projects with her elementary-school students about it. And in 2016, at the age of 89, she announced to one of her granddaughters that she wanted to persuade President Obama to make the day a federal holiday before he left office. She intended to walk two-and-a-half miles a day towards Washington, symbolising the two-and-a-half years it took for news of the Emancipation Proclamation to reach Texas. She set off, visiting anywhere she was invited and doing her walk. An online petition organised by her granddaughter took off.

The wheels of government turn slowly and it wasn't until 17 June 2021 that President Biden signed the holiday into law. And Miss Opal was at the White House to witness the historic moment.

President Joe Biden, joined by Vice President Kamala Harris, lawmakers and guests, signs the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act Bill on Thursday, June 17, 2021, in the East Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Chandler West)

Educating the Younger Generation

Educating the Younger Generation
Opal Lee has long been retired but she returns regularly to schools to read from the picture book she has written, Juneteenth.

Check out a great video of Opal Lee talking about Juneteenth and her campaign. And our webpicks about the holiday.

This topic would work well with Shine Brighter 2e File 17 "Still we rise", about the heirs of the civil-rights movement, and Axe 4 of the new curriculum, Défis et transition, objet d'étude 1 Les formes de mobilisation populaire : des trade unions à l’hashtag.