By Robbie OwensJune 19, 2017 at 6:37 pm FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – The littered corner of Annie and New York in Fort Worth can’t tell tales. But, the now 90-year-old Opal Lee who once lived there can, and does, often, as part of her mission to make Juneteenth a national holiday. “It was a neat little white cottage,” she recalls with a smile that betrays no malice, “two bedrooms, my Mother had it fixed up so nice.” “It was the 19th of June when whites began to gather across the street,” says Lee, as she gestures across the street from the now vacant lot. “There were police from Fort Worth and the county… all those people. They were 500 strong. The realtor that sold us the house went to get my father. He came home and he had a rifle. The police officer said ‘if you bust a cap, we’ll let that mob have you.’ ” And then adding, “they made no effort to dispel the mob.” Seventy-eight years later, the incident is not just history — it is her story, and Lee shares it to convince anyone who will listen that the nation should celebrate Juneteenth as a symbol of freedom for all. “Juneteenth needs to be a national holiday,” insists Lee. “I want you to pass on to your children, your grandchildren, your great-grandchildren that none of us are free until we are all free.” To call attention to her quest, Lee launched a symbolic walk to Washington, D.C. last year; walking two and a half miles morning and evening in cities across the country. The two and a half miles symbolic of the two and a half years it took for slaves in Texas to learn they had been freed. “I’m wanting the nation to be aware that Juneteenth is a unifier–it’s not just a black thing. Slaves didn’t free themselves,” says Lee. “We ought to be able to take the arms of those who helped us– I don’t know a single Quaker –I ought to get to know one!” Lee’s charm is infectious. But, she insists that awareness is just a start. She’s looking for change. “Nobody’s going to give us anything! You have to work for what you want” she exclaims with a stern but loving look that must be a mandate for grandmothers everywhere, “and I’m working to make Juneteenth a national holiday!” And then there’s the smile that suggests her journey has been all the while fulfilling as well.
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A full weekend of Juneteenth celebrations will mark the 152nd anniversary of emancipation in Texas.
Juneteenth commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas in June 1865, and more generally the emancipation of African-American slaves throughout the Confederate South. Fort Worth will celebrate the event June 17-18. FestivalThe highlight of the weekend will be the Juneteenth Community Festival at Tarrant County College South Campus, 5301 Campus Drive, from 1-9 p.m. June 17. The event includes a hip hop concert, swing dancing, food and gift vendors, youth art show, children’s area, and a barbecue cook-off. Admission is free. ParadeThe parade begins at 10:30 a.m. June 17 at the Super 1 Food Store, 6701 Forest Hill Drive, on the south side of I-20, and ends at the TCC-South Campus parking lot. For information about participating in the parade, call Joe Roland at 501-301-4985. June 17, 2016 10:59 PM Updated June 17, 2016 10:02 PM Juneteenth festivities in Fort Worth started Friday with a program at noon at City Hall and a parade on Evans Avenue in the evening. Fort Worth celebrates JuneteenthThe city of Fort Worth celebrated Juneteenth, Emancipation Day in Texas, with a program at City Hall on Friday, June 17, 2016. (Star-Telegram/Max Faulkner) [email protected] Never miss a local story.Sign up today for a free 30 day free trial of unlimited digital access. The observance continues Saturday with the free Juneteenth Festival from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Cobb Park. A 5K/1 mile walk-run begins at 7 a.m. On Sunday, which is actually Juneteenth, the Juneteenth Scholarship Pageant is at 6:30 p.m. at Martin Hall at Texas Wesleyan University. Juneteenth celebrates the arrival of a Union general in Galveston on June 19, 1865, with the news that the Civil War was over and slaves had been freed. Fort Worth Juneteenth paradeFort Worth celebrates Juneteenth, the day Texas slaves learned they were freed, with a parade on Evans Avenue. (Star-Telegram/Rodger Mallison) [email protected] Andrea Dean, left, and Opal Lee, right, present Valerie Washington, assistant city manager, with a plaque during the Juneteenth program at City Hall on Friday, June 17, 2016. Max Faulkner [email protected] June 17, 2015 12:28 PM
Updated June 17, 2015 03:49 PM A series of events are planned to celebrate Juneteenth in Fort Worth this year, Texas emancipation’s 150th anniversary. The holiday celebrates June 19, 1865, the day Texans learned slavery had been abolished. It was two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation took effect on Jan. 1, 1863. The weekend’s theme in Fort Worth is “None of Us are Free Until We’re all Free.” The city is celebrating Friday and Saturday. Other community events are also being organized elsewhere. JUNETEENTH 2015 EVENTS Arlington “Juneteenth in Texas: 150 Years of Freedom” is an exhibit that features more than 60 photographs from across the state. The exhibit is on display at the University of Texas at Arlington’s Central Library and is co-sponsored by UT Arlington Libraries, UT Arlington History Department and Center for Greater Southwestern Studies. It is free and open to the public during library hours through Aug. 9. For more information, call 817-272-3000. Fort Worth Friday ▪ The 12th Annual Evangelist Lillian Bush Memorial Breakfast of Prayer. The all-faith ecumenical service starts at 9 a.m. at the Baker Chapel AME Church, 1050 E. Humbolt St. Celebration speaker is the Rev. Karl Travis of First Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth. Brunch follows immediately. ▪ A noon celebration in the City Council chamber at Fort Worth City Hall will include keynote speaker the Rev. Marlon Jones, Voice of Influence founder and CEO. Master of ceremonies is Estrus Tucker, human rights advocate. The event includes live entertainment, music, vendors and more. For information, call Andrea Dean at 817-891-6023 or Kenneth Alexander at 817-392-2473. The celebration is presented by the City of Fort Worth Martin Luther King Jr./Juneteenth and Juneteenth FW committees. ▪ A dedication is planned for a mosaic glass art piece that commemorates Miss Hazel Harvey Peace, a longtime I.M. Terrell teacher who helped generations of African-American students. “Consequently,” a piece by Tina McIntire, will be dedicated at 3 p.m. at the Hazel Harvey Peace Center for Neighborhoods, 818 Missouri Ave. in Fort Worth. Speakers include council member Kelly Allen Gray. The event is free to public and includes light refreshments. Saturday ▪ The Juneteenth Parade kicks off at 9 a.m. from the corner of Rosedale Street and Evans Avenue and ends in Cobb Park. For information about participating, call Joe Roland at 817-980-7045. ▪ Juneteenth Festival in the Park at Cobb Park, 2700 Cobb Park Dr., is 7 a.m.-7 p.m. A hip-hop concert is 10 a.m.-2 p.m, followed by an R&B concert 3 p.m.-7 p.m. Admission is free. Parking is available at Berry Street and Riverside Drive with shuttle transportation to the park. Denton Historic free tours will celebrate African-American h2istory on Friday and Saturday. The tours will explore history at the Denton Historical Park Museums, the Bayless-Selby House and the Quakertown House. Trained guides will offer two group tours at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Tour participants should meet at 317 W. Mulberry St. in Denton. The tours will chronicle the African-American experience in Denton before and after the displacement of Quakertown residents. The Rev. Mark Tyler, left, senior pastor of Mother Bethel AME Church, walks through City Hall’s exterior corridor with Opal Lee during her walk in support for a Juneteenth national holiday.
Opal Lee, pictured with Mark Tyler, senior pastor of Mother Bethel AME Church, walk through the City Hall Concourse as part of Lee’s walk to support a national holiday for Juneteenth. Because of the rain, Opal Lee took her Philadelphia walk underground. The 90-year-old Texas native started out at the subway station on 15th Street near JFK Boulevard, then made her way down to the concourse by way of Suburban Station and later returned on the other side of City Hall, completing a full 2.5-mile trek. Along the way, people gave her hugs, kissed her on the cheek and held on to cards describing her Juneteenth mission. Lee is walking to build support toward making Juneteenth a national holiday. “Our young people are really not aware of the celebration and its significance,” Lee later said en route to the next state in which she’ll walk. “If you know that we weren’t free on the Fourth of July, we have an obligation to make Juneteenth a unifier.” Pennsylvania makes the 11th state in which Lee has taken her walk since beginning in her hometown of Forth Worth, Texas, on Sept. 1. Since then, she has walked in such states as Colorado, Wisconsin, Louisiana and Virginia. Lee wants to conclude her effort in Washington, D.C., where she hopes to meet with President Barack Obama about issuing an executive order for the holiday. “Can I not dream with the stroke of the pen that he can do that?” Lee said. When Ronald Brown, president of the Pennsylvania Juneteenth Coalition, first received word from Lee’s family about her effort, he couldn’t believe at her age she was making such a walk. Lee’s family also reached out the Rev. Mark Tyler, senior pastor at Philadelphia’s historic Mother Bethel AME Church. Together, they arranged for Lee’s walk in Philadelphia, which took place on Tuesday, despite the rain. “She said, ‘I don’t care if it’s raining or not. I want to walk,’” Brown said. Lee left with good feelings about her venture in Philadelphia. “It was fabulous, what more can I say?” she said, laughing. “Mrs. Lee has an electric personality,” Tyler said. “She has the ability to transform the world.” Although Tyler considers Philadelphia not the friendliest of places, he said Lee’s walk exceeded expectations. Her charm helped open up people who otherwise had their guard up. Even police officers gave her a hug. “I likened it to a Christmas movie special,” he said. Juneteenth, generally celebrated on June 19, is the oldest celebration of the end of slavery in the U.S. Although slavery was abolished through the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, it wasn’t until 1865 when Union soldiers landed in Galveston, Texas, that many slaves in the Confederate South knew they were free. Tyler said making Juneteenth a national holiday helps America as a whole deal with slavery. Slavery as a topic is still surrounded by misconceptions, myths and sometimes skipped over in history lessons. As a country, America has yet to fully move on from slavery, according to Tyler. “[Juneteenth] is an educational tool and inspirational not just for African Americans, but for all Americans,” he said. Tyler said Lee’s visit gave him and Brown a chance to meet for the first time. Now they are planning New Year’s Eve events and future Juneteenth events for the community. As for Lee, she continues her walk until she meets President Obama. “I’m hoping before the next person gets into office, I’ll get an audience with him,” she said. “If not, I’ll keep on walking.” Lee has a website, opalswalk2dc.com, where people can sign a petition to have Juneteenth designated as a National Day of Observance. She also takes donations to assist with her travels. [email protected] (215) 893-5732 |