Grandmother of Juneteenth visits Texarkana
Nobel nominee brings laughs, lessons to banquet
TEXARKANA, Texas — Civil rights activist and 2022 Nobel Peace Prize nominee Opal Lee has committed her life to helping people get fair treatment.
On Saturday, she also proved she could regale an audience with humor.
“I finished high school when I was 16 years old, and I went on to get married, but my mom was so disappointed in me, because I was planning to take care of three babies — and my husband too,” Lee, 96, said as she spoke to a crowd of hundreds at the 27th annual Tribute to African American Women Awards Banquet at Texarkana College.
However, just a few years before her graduation, Lee and her family were the victims of violence.
In 1939, when Lee was 12, her parents purchased a house in a mainly white area of Fort Worth, Texas. Months later, a mob of white rioters burned down the house.
That date, June 19, was etched into Lee’s memory. Years later, she would campaign to have it adopted as a state holiday in Texas, since it also was the day in 1865 that Union forces proclaimed freedom to Black slaves in the state.
In 2021, Juneteenth became the 11th federal holiday.
For her work, Lee earned special recognition — the Grandmother of Juneteenth.
Upon graduating in 1943 from I.M Terrell High School — Fort Worth’s first black high school — Lee had another surprise waiting for her mom.
“I told mom I wanted to go to college, but I also let her know that I would have to quit my teaching job in Fort Worth,” Lee said.
Lee said she did this because the job only paid $2,000 a year.
Lee’s decision led her to Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, where she graduated in 1952 with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. From there, she earned a master’s degree in counseling from North Texas State University, and went on to work for Fort Worth Independent School District.
“I would eventually raise four children, and I learned how to be tough with other kids in the school district,” she said. “But when I started to teach the eighth grade, I actually began acting like them.”
After retiring from full-time teaching in 1976, Lee continued her activism by helping about 60 people in jail get jobs. She also led people to walk 2 1/2 miles in an effort to reflect the 2 1/2 years it took
for news of the Emancipation Proclamation to reach Texas.
“We want freedom for everybody, so lets start celebrating freedom, starting June 19 all the way to July 4 from now on,” she said.
The banquet was presented by Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., Beta Tau Sigma Chapter, and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc., Gamma Kappa Zeta Chapter.
Honorees included Victoria Davis, the Arizona Cleaver Stemons Award; Dr. LaShundra Watson, the Pearl Anna Neal Award; Sighle Blackwell, the Myrtle Tyler Faithful Award; Tonya Strong-Weatherall, the Viola Tyler Goings Award; Stephanie Nelson, the Fannie Pettie Watts Award; and Linda Henderson, the Dr. Lullelia W. Harrison Award.