Opal Lee celebrates 100th birthday by kicking off construction of Juneteenth museum

FORT WORTH, Texas -- FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Opal Lee celebrated her 100th birthday Wednesday by kicking off the start of construction of a museum in her Texas hometown dedicated to telling the history of Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S.

“It was important for us to do this on this date because everything we’ve done for the last several years, everything we continue to do, is built around the spirit of the venerable Miss Opal Lee,” said Jarred Howard, CEO of the upcoming National Juneteenth Museum in Fort Worth.

Lee, founding board member of the museum, became known as the “grandmother of Juneteenth” after spending years rallying to get federal recognition for June 19. When then-President Joe Biden in 2021 signed a bill into law making Juneteenth a federal holiday, Lee was by his side.

The holiday marks the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston at the end of the Civil War with an order declaring the freedom of the enslaved people in Texas. It was about 2 1/2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation freed the enslaved people in the still rebellious states of the Confederacy. Six months later, the ratification of the 13th Amendment permanently ended slavery in the United States.

Lee expressed her happiness and gratefulness at the Wednesday event, where a crew began demolishing a building to clear the way for the construction of the planned 50,000-square-foot (4,600-square-meter) project in a historically Black neighborhood.

The event included an announcement that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would be donating $3 million toward the museum's construction and the creation of a genealogy center in it.

“I'm so happy I could do a holy dance, and these old legs won't respond, but let me tell you how thankful I am and that this deed won't go unnoticed,” said Lee, who spoke after the announcement.

Lee has been a force in Fort Worth, where she worked for decades as a teacher, counselor and community activist.

Lee has said she has cherished childhood memories of celebrating Juneteenth with food, music and games, and as an adult, she was involved in planning the celebration in Fort Worth.

“Long before there were historic walks, cameras, books and well-deserved national acclaim, my childhood memories are filled with you making sure that Fort Worth remembered,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee H. Toliver said at the event.

She told Lee, who was sitting in the crowd, that she remembered her planning community events, parades and festivals.

“You always reminded us that history is not something you leave behind, it’s something you actively protect,” Toliver said.

The future site of the museum is not far from the home that was built for Lee a couple of years ago on the same tree-lined corner lot that her family had been driven from by a racist mob when she was a young girl.

Lee was 12 when, on Juneteenth in 1939, a white mob of hundreds descended on her Black family’s home, days after they moved into a white neighborhood. The mob smashed windows and furniture, according to newspaper reports from the time.

The celebration of Lee's birthday continues Wednesday evening as the museum hosts a conversation with former first lady Michelle Obama at the city's convention center.