Guest Speaker
Dr. Opal Lee Impact Award Recipient
Opal Lee — A Living Legacy of Freedom
Opal Lee is more than a name in history—she is living proof that one person’s determination can move a nation. Born in East Texas, she moved to Fort Worth at age 12. She became a teacher, a counselor, and above all, a voice for justice.
At eighty-nine years old, while most people slow down, Opal Lee laced up her shoes believing if people saw an old lady walking across the United States, just maybe it would get enough attention to make Juneteenth a National Holiday. Every year, she walked 2.5 miles to symbolize the two and a half years it took for the news of freedom to reach enslaved people in Texas. She walked not for herself, but for generations who came before and for those yet to come.
Her steps became a movement. Her persistence opened the doors of Congress. And in 2021, because she refused to give up, Juneteenth was finally recognized as a federal holiday—a national day of reflection, freedom, and unity.
In 2022, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
In 2024, President Biden placed the Presidential Medal of Freedom around her neck, but the truth is—Opal Lee has always been a symbol of freedom.
Her story reminds us that change doesn’t come overnight. It comes when ordinary people do extraordinary things, again and again, until justice prevails.
For years, Ms Opal Lee has been an active member of the Democratic Party. She will be 99 in less than a month and she serves as a Precinct Chair and as an election judge.
Opal Lee teaches us this: you are never too old, too small, or too ordinary to change history. All it takes is courage, faith, and the will to keep walking forward.
