Grandmother of Juneteenth Dr. Opal Lee Visits in New Jersey

Dr. Opal Lee who spearheaded Juneteenth as a national holiday was the celebrated speaker at the Piscataway Public Library, Kennedy branch on Sunday, June 9th. Local dignitaries included Piscataway Mayor, Brian C Wahler, Plainfield Former Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs, and members of the Piscataway Town Council along with the community that packed the library as more than 225 people gathered to listen to the pearls of wisdom Dr. Lee had to share.

“It was a privilege to partner with the NAACP-MEAB (Metuchen-Edison-Piscataway Branch) to bring national treasure, Presidential Medal of Freedom winner, Dr. Opal Lee to the Piscataway Community,” said Joy Robinson, Branch Librarian. “Dr. Lee is an inspiration to all who learn her story of determination and fortitude. She has a warm and welcoming heart, open to everyone.”

In 2016 Dr. Lee, who was 89 years old at the time Lee began The Opals Walk Campaign walking 1,400 miles from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington DC to bring attention to June 19th, 1965. This was the date enslaved people in Texas, the furthest western slave-holding state in the county, learned they were free, two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

Affectionately known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth” Dr. Lee’s efforts were rewarded and in 2021 President Joe Bidden signed Juneteenth, officially Juneteenth National Independence Day, into law making it a federal national holiday.

Dr. Lee has become a national treasure spreading her message of love and peace. Despite the many hardships she endured as a child she still has faith. Her appearance in New Jersey was supported in part by a grant from the Board of Middlesex County Commissioners the Middlesex County Division of Arts and History and the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.) Dr. Lee was in New Jersey for several days visiting schools and connecting with the community.

The program at the Kennedy Branch of the Piscataway Library was titled A Conversation with Dr. Opal Lee and was facilitated by 18-year-old Enydia Haynes a dance phenom and honor student who has trained with the esteemed Debbie Allen. Haynes exercised composure despite several hiccups with the microphones asking thought-provoking questions of how Dr. Lee decided to fight for freedom.

“This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Haynes said. “I am extremely grateful and proud to have been in Dr. Opal Lee's presence. Even though Dr. Lee and I might have an 80-year age gap, I learned a lot from her and strive to be as amazing a person as she is. She helped me understand that I can change the world with just my actions and that taking my college education seriously will pay off for me later in life.”

Lee said that education is the key and advised young people not to follow her path.
“After I graduated high school I got married to the disappointment of my mother,” Lee said. “I didn’t know after 4 years and 4 babies I would have to raise my husband too.”

As a single parent, returning to get her degree was hard. Her mom offered to care for her children but did not have the money to send her to school, Dr. Lee graduated from Wiley College in Texas and continues to be a strong proponent of education. She released a picture book, Juneteenth: A Children's Story in 2022 to share her message with the youth.

The octogenarian is living her best life. There are plans to build a museum where she lives to honor Juneteenth. She said she would be moving into a new home in a few weeks, ironically the place her family was run out of as an angry mob destroyed the place not wanting a black family to live there.

"They did despicable and unthinkable things and destroyed the place. When I saw that my mother's house was owned by Habitat for Humanity I asked if I could buy it and they said no. They decided to give it to me," Dr. Lee broke out in a big smile as she recounted the story.
She told audience members to always have faith and never give up.

“If people can be taught to hate they can also be taught to love,” Dr. Lee said. “Each of us must appoint ourselves a committee of one to keep trying to teach that lesson over and over again until it takes hold.”