She is known by many different titles.
Grandmother of Juneteenth. Inspiration. Icon.
But to David Ford, Opal Lee is a lifelong friend.
Ford was one of hundreds of people who spent their Juneteenth morning rolling, strolling and pushing strollers for Opal鈥檚 Walk for Freedom in Fort Worth.
For the first time since the holiday鈥檚 federal recognition in 2021, Lee wasn鈥檛 present at the celebration due to .
Ford, 80, grew up across the street from Lee in Fort Worth鈥檚 Historic Southside during the 1950s and 1960s, and credits her with practically raising him, he said.
鈥淪he was very kind, but stern,鈥� he said with a grin. 鈥淪he wouldn鈥檛 let me get into any trouble.鈥�
In 2016, when Lee, now a 98-year-old retired school teacher, started her activism, Ford had no doubts she鈥檇 accomplish what she set out to do: convince Congress to make Juneteenth a national holiday recognizing the 1865 emancipation of slaves in Texas.
The day became a federal holiday June 17, 2021, with as President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth bill into law. She received the from Biden in May 2024.
The annual 2陆-mile Walk for Freedom around Farrington Field recognizes the two-and-a-half years it took for the news and enforcement of freedom to reach the enslaved people in Texas in 1865.
Where else can I celebrate Juneteenth?
around Fort Worth over the weekend include concerts at , a and a at the Potter鈥檚 House of Fort Worth.
Ford, a retired business professor, and his wife, Jackie, showed up to walk for Lee, they said.
While Juneteenth is the , many members of the Black community, especially in Texas, have celebrated it for over a century.
For Ford, Juneteenth has always meant filling a nearby park with friends and family, and packing the holiday with food, music and a celebration late into the night.
鈥淧eople think this is something new, but it鈥檚 really not,鈥� Jackie Ford said.
Fort Worth resident Angela Hodges similarly grew up with Juneteenth park celebrations in the 1980s and 1990s. She showed up to the June 19 walk with her daughter to continue 鈥渂eing big鈥� on the holiday, as her own mother did when Hodges was a child.
Hodges sees it as fitting that the day鈥檚 nominal grandmother is a Fort Worth native. The day shows Texas鈥� focus and leadership in emancipation and 鈥渃laiming freedom for all Americans,鈥� she said.
鈥淥n that day, technically, that鈥檚 when all Americans had their freedom from various types of oppression,鈥� Hodges, a pharmacist, said. 鈥淎t least on paper.鈥�
Clint Dupew showed up with his two children for the morning walk, celebrating the day and what it means to have 鈥渇reedom for everybody,鈥� he said.
鈥�(Juneteenth) crosses all the values that we want to live, and that I want to pass on to our kids,鈥� Dupew said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 looking toward the future by remembering the scars from our past. We鈥檙e not trying to whitewash anything and act like we鈥檙e just great, but we鈥檙e learning from our mistakes and moving forward and saying 鈥榟ey, this has made us stronger and this is bringing us closer.鈥欌��
Dupew, who works as the executive director of the domestic relations office of Tarrant County, said even though Lee wasn鈥檛 physically present, her presence was tangible.
鈥淔ort Worth has a lot of prominent people who have a lot of different voices, and I don鈥檛 know that we always let them shine,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e let politics get in the way, but this is a way to say, 鈥楬ey, look, we鈥檙e more than just a red party or a blue party. We鈥檙e a people. We鈥檙e together. We have a history.鈥欌��
Drew Shaw is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org or .
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