“The grandmother of Juneteenth,” Opal Lee was on hand for the grand opening of The Opal, a new housing community in Fort Worth with more than 300 mixed income housing units.
A new affordable housing community in Fort Worth is named after the grandmother of Juneteenth, Opal Lee.
Lee, 98, joined community leaders at Thursday's grand opening of The Opal, a mixed-income housing development in North Fort Worth, near the Alliance area along the 13000 block of Green Cedar Avenue.
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We're honored today to be able to continue her legacy of promoting equality, affordable housing and safe places where families can thrive and children can do better than the next.
Mary-Margaret Lemons, president of Fort Worth Housing Solutions
"You know, I'm delighted. I'm ecstatic. I could do a holy dance, but the kids say when I try, I'm twerking, whatever that is. But I just want to let you know how grateful I am," Opal Lee said at the ceremony. "I dream that there will be more Opals. They don't have to be named Opal, but this is, as the kids would say, this is off the chain."
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On Thursday, Lee told a crowd of community members that after her teaching career ended, she began working to help those in need and pushing for federal recognition of Juneteenth. Lee said she advocated for North Texans who were homeless, who didn't have food and who didn't have a place to stay.
Lee's granddaughter, Dione Sims, was with Lee at the grand opening Thursday and said Juneteenth celebrates the freedom for everybody to enjoy the American dream, which includes having a place to live.
"Housing is not a luxury; it's a necessity, and this beautiful complex named for the legacy that my grandmother has been to Fort Worth is astounding and we, as her family, appreciate you for appreciating her," Sims said.
Mary-Margaret Lemons, president of Fort Worth Housing Solutions, said she was sitting next to Lee at a community meeting six years ago when the idea to name the community after the civil rights activist was born.
"In my head, I started thinking, we have this project coming along and wouldn't it be cool if she would let us use her name," Lemons said. "They didn't just say yes, they said absolutely."
Lemons also presented Lee with a $3,000 check from Fort Worth Housing Solutions for the National Juneteenth Museum, which is being built in Fort Worth.
"I'm so thankful and I hope you understand and I hope you, too, will contribute to what they're doing for decent housing for people in Fort Worth," Lee said. "Fort Worth can lead. What we do, others will follow. So, thank you."
