FORT WORTH, Texas — Nearly 85 years after she and her family were forced to flee their home due to a racist white mob, Opal Lee, witnessed the start of the constriction of a new home at the site where her childhood home once existed.
Lee was present on Thursday for a wall-raising ceremony, where a group of volunteers and supporters lifted the framework for the first wall of the new home, which is expected to be completed on June 19, the day marking the Juneteenth holiday.
Lee, 97, is a retired teacher and activist who helped Juneteenth become a federally-recognized holiday. Lee is often regarded as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth.”
More on the new home under construction for Opal Lee and the history of Juneteenth.
