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Opal Lee's granddaughter advocates for "Grandmother of Juneteenth" to be included in Texas curriculum

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Lacey Beasley
Lacey Beasley
Lacey Beasley is an award-winning journalist with CBS News Texas. You can find her on-air every weekday morning.
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Lacey Beasley

/ CBS Texas

The granddaughter of Dr. Opal Lee, famously known as the "Grandmother of Juneteenth" was in Austin Tuesday to advocate for the inclusion her grandmother in Texas' Juneteenth curriculum. 

Dr. Lee is nearly 100 years old and lives in Fort Worth. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2024 and was by President Biden's side when he made Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021. 

"I want to petition for her to be a required person to study Juneteenth," said granddaughter Dione Sims. "People that have to do with freedom, liberty, and unity; she's the embodiment of that. Helping to get Juneteenth as a national holiday, I think deserves to be mentioned." 

Sims testified in front of the State Board of Education Tuesday night. A final decision is expected in June.

Lee, born in 1926, played a crucial role in making Juneteenth a federal holiday. The North Texas icon walked two and a half miles every Juneteenth to symbolize the two and a half years it took for enslaved people in Texas to learn they were free, after the Emancipation Proclamation. In 2016, she walked from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness.

She didn't participate in the 2025 walk after being hospitalized.

Lee has also been honored with a Barbie doll that celebrates her advocacy as part of its Inspiring Women collection.

Sims previously discussed expanding Lee's walk across all 50 states, preserving her grandmother's legacy with a walk in one city in each state.

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