As we speak’s Juneteenth federal commemoration might have stayed a distant fantasy if it weren’t for the work of Ms. Opal Lee. EBONY revisits our 2023 dialog with the long-lasting chief and “Grandmother of Juneteenth” as we honor the magnitude of today in American historical past.
Nearly a centenarian, Ms. Opal Lee will not be solely a wealth of knowledge and information however can be energized about the way forward for this nation. After receiving nice popularity of her efforts in getting Juneteenth acknowledged as a federal vacation, she has continued to advocate for better acknowledgement of Black historical past and different social justice points on the middle of our society.
The Grandmother of Juneteenth sat down with EBONY to debate the importance of the vacation and her hopes for our nation in understanding the common cruciality of freedom for all.
EBONY: How do you are feeling about being dubbed the “Grandmother of Juneteenth”?
Ms. Opal Lee: I’m all people’s grandma. I’m certain your grandmothers have instructed you issues that you just stored in your coronary heart, and I need you to maintain the issues I’m telling you shut as properly. Consider it or not, older folks have necessary classes to cross down if younger people simply sit down and hear. We love them. We would like one of the best for them, and we’re going to all the time cherish them.
At your core, you might be an educator and are considered one of many who’ve fought to have our historical past highlighted on this nation. What emotions come up once you hear about folks trying to take away Black historical past from colleges?
I acquired busy and went to work! I wrote a kids’s e-book simply because of this, as I made a decision that I wasn’t gonna allow them to not have entry to our historical past. Our younger folks must know our historical past in order that it doesn’t get repeated and we will proceed creating change.
Who ought to be capable of rejoice Juneteenth on this nation? Is it one thing that solely Black-identifying people ought to have entry to?
Freedom is for everybody. I believe freedom ought to be celebrated from the nineteenth of June to the Fourth of July; nevertheless, none of us are free till we’re all free. We aren’t free but, and Juneteenth is an emblem of that. We have now many disparities that we have to handle, like joblessness, homelessness, healthcare and local weather change. We’re accountable for altering that. If we don’t do one thing, we’re all going to hell in a handbasket. We have to get busy seeing about these disparities and advocate for higher. Everyone ought to make themselves a committee of 1 to vary someone’s thoughts—and plenty of minds do have to be modified. If folks have been taught to hate, they need to be taught to like. After I take into consideration the truth that we took 1,500,000 signatories to Congress, we have been ready to take many extra to the White Home. Don’t you realize 3 million folks might flip this nation and shake issues up?
What would you like people to recollect you for in our historical past books other than Juneteenth?
Freedom, freedom, freedom for everyone! I don’t need folks to assume that celebrating freedom through Juneteenth is nearly a Black vacation or only a Texas vacation. It’s about figuring out that all of us have a stake in making this one of the best nation on the earth. All of it hinges on every of us having the liberty to do no matter is critical to get there.
I additionally need our younger folks to comprehend that they’re those to get us out of the short. They’ve so many sources just like the web, and I need them to make certain that it’s used correctly and make a change.