Opal Lee set to move into rebuilt Fort Worth home
Opal Lee moves into rebuilt Fort Worth home
Dr. Opal Lee, who is known as the Grandmother of Juneteenth, sat on her front porch Friday morning to chat about her new home. When she was a child, a racist mob burned down her family's home. A new house now stands in its place thanks to several organizations.
FORT WORTH, Texas - Fort Worth’s Grandmother of Juneteenth is set to move into her new home. It’s in the same location where a racist mob burned down her family’s home decades ago.
The angry mob torched Opal Lee’s home on Annie Street in Fort Worth on June 19, 1939.
She said they were mad that a Black family had moved into their neighborhood. She was only 12 years old at the time.
Years later, Lee began her work to make Juneteenth a national holiday marking the official day slavery ended in the United States.
Her historic homecoming event was made possible by several organizations at no cost.
Construction begins on Opal Lee’s new home in Fort Worth
The grandmother of Juneteenth, Mrs. Opal Lee, is getting a special gift – a new home to replace the one burned down by an angry mob decades ago. The first part of it goes up today.
The Trinity Habitat for Humanity, Texas Capital, JC Penney, and HistoryMaker Homes worked together to build and furnish the home.
Lee will get the keys ahead of her annual Juneteenth walk, which will take place next week in Dallas.
She is expected to speak at a ceremony Friday morning.