© 2024 All Rights reserved WUSF
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Opal Lee — the grandmother of Juneteenth — is 96 and still walking for equality

Vice President Kamala Harris (R) greets US teacher and activist Opal Lee prior to a Juneteenth concert on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on June 13, 2023. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
Vice President Kamala Harris (R) greets US teacher and activist Opal Lee prior to a Juneteenth concert on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on June 13, 2023. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

For the full conversation, click here.

96-year-old Opal Lee has spent decades walking and advocating for the date marking actual emancipation to be recognized as a national holiday. And this is the third year June 19 is a federal holiday. Lee was part of the celebration at the White House last week marking the holiday.

Here & Now‘s Peter O’Dowd talked with Opal Lee last year.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tags
WUSF 89.7 depends on donors for the funding it takes to provide you the most trusted source of news and information here in town, across our state, and around the world. Support WUSF now by giving monthly, or make a one-time donation online.