Hundreds celebrate Juneteenth with civil rights leader Opal Lee

FORT WORTH - Across the country this weekend, people are recognizing the significance of Juneteenth.

In Fort Worth, hundreds of people were alongside the woman who helped make the day a federal holiday to join in on the celebration. 

In 2020, Opal Lee collected 1.5 million signatures to create a national holiday for Juneteenth, the day the civil war-era emancipation proclamation was announced in Texas, freeing enslaved African Americans.

"She’ll be written about in history books, she’s an amazing person, she’s changed so many people, so many things, and she’s not done yet," Fort Worth Police Chief Niel Noakes said. 

Saturday, on the eve of Juneteenth, Lee and many others in Fort Worth walked 2.5 miles to represent the 2.5 years it took for the news of freedom to reach Texas.

"We all need to acknowledge Juneteenth. Just like Fourth of July, everyone needs to acknowledge that day," Marquita Thompson, a participant in the walk, said.

For some, the walk is an opportunity to teach history to their children.

"My grandfathers, my grandmothers, the struggle they went through," Charmayne Wamsley, a participant in the walk, said. 

Some never thought Juneteenth, a holiday that’s been celebrated for decades, would become a federal holiday, but it did last year.

"I didn’t think I would ever get to be here," Chandra Reeves, a participant in the walk, said.

Lee says Juneteenth serves as a reminder that there’s plenty of work left to accomplish.

"If people can be taught to hate they can be taught to love," Lee said. 

"Until all of us are free, none of us are free...even now we’re seeing systemic issues we’re trying to deal with," Chief Noakes said.

So as some north Texans walk, and others take charge in a different way, they do so together. 

"Because we need to celebrate our culture. Everywhere. Everywhere," Thompson said.

Juneteenth, a reflection of times in which many people suffered, later a story of redemption and the road still to travel.