Grandmother Of Juneteenth Opal Lee Receives Presidential Medal Of Freedom
The Fort Worth woman known as the grandmother of Juneteenth returned to the White House Friday to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Ms. Opal Lee, a beacon of inspiration, was among the diverse group of 18 other politicians, activists, athletes, and inspiring individuals who were selected to receive the nation’s highest civilian award. This diverse representation underscores the inclusive spirit of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
In a powerful acknowledgment of Lee’s civil rights efforts, President Joe Biden recognized the 97-year-old for her historic walk to Washington, D.C. in 2016. This walk was a poignant act of raising awareness about June 19, 1865, the day when slaves in the United States learned of their freedom, a significant step towards justice and progress.
She was at Biden’s side in 2021 when he signed the bill declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday.
“The first person I handed the pen to was Ms. Opal Lee, the grandmother of the movement that helped make it possible,” said President Biden during the ceremony.
Since then, Lee has continued her annual walk to celebrate Juneteenth in Fort Worth.
She has a portrait hanging in the Texas State Capitol and was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
President Biden said this honor speaks to the dedication Lee showed to educating the nation.
“Juneteenth is a day of profound weight and power. We have to remember the original sin of slavery and the extraordinary capacity to merge the most painful moments with a better vision of ourselves,” he said. “Ms. Opal Lee made it her mission to make history, not erase it. We are a better nation because of you.”
The other 2024 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients include:
- Clarence B. Jones – civil rights activist who provided legal counsel to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
- Michael Bloomberg – former New York mayor and philanthropist
- James Clyburn – Democrat from South Carolina and longtime friend of Biden
- Elizabeth Dole – Republican from North Carolina who served as Transportation Secretary, Labor Secretary, and president of the American Red Cross
- Al Gore – former Vice President of the United States and climate activist
- John Kerry – former senator and Biden’s former climate envoy
- Frank Lautenberg – Democrat senator from New Jersey (died in 2013)
- Nancy Pelosi – former Speaker of the House
- Medgar Evers – civil rights activist who was killed in 1963
- Michelle Yeoh – first Asian woman to win an Academy Award
- Jim Thorpe – first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal for the U.S. (died in 1953)
- Judy Shepard – co-founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation in honor of her son, a 21-year-old gay student at the University of Wyoming who died in 1998 after he was beaten and tied to a fence
- Gregory Boyle – Jesuit Catholic priest who founded a gang intervention and rehabilitation program
- Phil Donahue – journalist and former daytime TV talk-show host
- Katie Ledecky – most decorated female swimmer in history
- Ellen Ochoa – first Hispanic woman in space and second female director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center
- Jane Rigby – astronomer who is chief scientist of the world’s most powerful telescope
- Teresa Romero – president of the United Farm Workers and the first Hispanic woman to lead a national union in the U.S.
“These nineteen Americans built teams, coalitions, movements, organizations, and businesses that shaped America for the better,” the White House said in a news release. “They are the pinnacle of leadership in their fields. They consistently demonstrated the power of community, hard work, and science over their careers.”
The awards were presented at the White House on Friday, May 3.
This article first appeared on Fox 4 News.