Opal Lee, popularly referred to as “The Grandmother of Juneteenth,” will not be taking part in this year’s Walk for Freedom march, which will begin at Farrington Field in the Cultural District at 9 a.m. on June 19.
This is related to Lee’s recent hospitalization. Since its inception in 2016, Lee has never missed the event held in Fort Worth, Texas.
Lee suffered a slight health problem while going to Cincinnati, Ohio, on May 23 to receive the International Freedom Conductors Award. Since early June, when she was discharged from the hospital, she has been recuperating at home.
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Her granddaughter, Dione Sims, told the Fort Worth Report on June 17, “She’s 98 and the family really wants to keep her in.”
Sims also told WFAA that, while Lee’s health prevents her from leading the Walk for Freedom, she intends to participate.
“It is our plan to have Miss Opal in a safe situation as possible, but still able to enjoy the walk that she had the vision for. So, she may be present and she may not,” Sims said in a statement to WFAA. “But right now, we’re planning on not. But if she is, she’ll be in a vehicle.”
According to the family, Lee will participate online if she is unable to attend for any reason.
Sims, the president and founder of Unity Unlimited Incorporated, will now take over her grandmother’s role as leader of the 2.5-mile walk.
According to the WFAA, Sims is also part of the National Juneteenth Museum in Fort Worth, which Lee assisted in creating. This year marks Juneteenth’s 160th anniversary.
“The ability for us to impact, you know, not just Fort Worth, but the nation, with the story of Emancipation, wherever it happened. I think that’s the beauty of the National Juneteenth Museum,” Sims previously told the news station in May.
READ ALSO: Opal Lee: 97-year-old ‘Grandmother of Juneteenth’ to receive 8th honorary doctorate
Meanwhile, Lee earlier expressed gratitude for the assistance she received after her hospitalization.
“Although I am unable to return the many texts and calls I have received over the past few days, please know that each one is appreciated; I am truly grateful for your concern and good wishes,” the retired teacher, wrote in a June 1 Facebook post.
On June 19, 1865, some of the last Black Americans in slavery in Galveston, Texas, were informed of their liberation, about two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
Juneteenth became a federally recognized holiday in 2021 after then-President Joe Biden signed bipartisan legislation into law.
