amazing. it is amazing to hear you recount it, carol. i will tell you. the details of what your father and these other defendants went through, i mean, they re horrific. they were beaten to receive a confession. two of his all of his co-defendants were shot under questionable circumstances at one point or another by law enforcement or by a white mob. yet, the conviction stood even though from the very get-go, it was clear that they may be innocent. why do you think it took so long? i would think because when it happened, folks were scared. they had been intimidated to the max. in some areas, they just wanted it to go away because it was so horrific. it was so wrong. they were afraid to talk about
to pull the plug that turned the lights off. that meant we are supposed to go home. why did i get on a flatbed truck and put that plug back in, and partied till dawn. 94 year old opal lee, reminiscing about celebrating juneteenth in fort worth, texas. we talked about miss openly last night on the show about how on juneteenth when she was just 12 years old in 1939, juneteenth the day marking the end of slavery in texas her family s home in fort worth was attacked and burned by a white mob. she s become an advocate to make juneteenth a federal holiday. she s been, all these years, a fixture of juneteenth celebrations in fort worth, texas. every year in fort worth, opal lee organizes a two and a half mile walk on juneteenth to the courthouse in fort worth to symbolize a two and a half years after the signing of the
believed it. i wanted to believe it. ms. opal, your incredible. a daughter of texas, grandmother of a movement to make juneteenth a federal holiday. you are an incredible movement, miss opal . she made it a mission that this day came. it was almost a singular mission. she has walked for miles and miles, literally and figuratively, to bring attention to juneteenth, to make this day possible. i ask, once again, we all stand and give her a warm welcome. [ applause ] 94 years old . a remarkable acknowledgment of the work of ms. opal lee today at the white house. you think about the two sides of this in her life. 12 years old, juneteenth, 1939, her family is burned out of their home in texas. that s by a white mob.
holiday. junteenth 1939, when she was 12 years old, a white mob torched her family home, but such hate never stopped her anymore than it stopped the vast majority of you i m looking at from this podium. over the course of decades she s made it her mission to see that this day came. it was almost a sipping lar mission. she s walked for miles and miles, literally and figuratively to bring attention to junteenth, to make this day possible. i ask once again we all stand again and give her a warm welcome. afterward, congresswoman sheila jackson lee of texas sent this tweet. with opal lea and president
in his remarks, president biden said this, about opal lee. you are an incredible woman, miss opal. he really are. as a child, growing up in texas, she and her family would celebrate juneteenth. and juneteenth 1939, when she was 12 years old, a white mob torched her family home. but such hate never stopped her. february of this year, opal lee again called on congress to pass the legislation that president biden signed into law today. juneteenth can be the unifier that s used to bring this country back together. as you begin the conversations that acknowledge the effects of the past sins of slavery on the