today. at the white house. you think about the two sides of this in her life, right? 12 years old, juneteenth, 1939, her family is burned out of their home in texas. by a white mob. there is never anybody held accountable for it, never anybody arrested. she lives her life celebrating the juneteenth holiday in texas, helping texans recognize and they do in that state. she decides the country needs to recognize, it s not because of what was done wrong to her that she wants the country to know about, it s a last thing she wants to talk about anytime someone interviews or. it s about celebrating the end of slavery. turning that day, which for her family was the darkest day imaginable into something that is bright, and positive in a moment of reflection for the country. after that recognition today from the president, of course time to sign the bill, the president called it an enormous
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. wow. all right. let s go to the coronavirus pandemic. the biden administration announced major effort to build up the country s supply of drugs used to treat covid-19 and other viruses. the plan called the anti-viral program for pandemics would speed up clinical trials of promising treatments and also accelerate the development and manufacturing of covid-19 medications. dr. anthony fauci discussed the new initiative yesterday. vaccines clearly remain the centerpiece of our arsenal against covid-19. however, anti-virals can and are an important compliment to existing vaccines, especially
holiday. you are an incredible woman, you really, are she made it her mission to see that this day came. it was almost a singular mission. she s 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 and 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. right? 12 years old, juneteenth, 1939, her family is burned out of their home in texas, by a white mob. there s never anybody held accountable. never anybody arrested. she lives her life celebrating the juneteenth holiday in texas. helping texans recognize it. and they do in that state. she decides the country needs to recognize this holiday. not because of what was done
subjugation and a promise of a brighter day to come. this is a day, in my view of profound weight and profound power. today, i want you to remember the moral stain and the terrible toll that slavery took on the country and continues to take. before signing the bill yesterday, biden gave special recognition to 94-year-old opal lee. she is known as the grandmother of juneteenth, because she s been advocating for over 40 years for juneteenth to become a federal holiday. you are an incredible woman, miss opal. you 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.
[ applause ] i had the honor of meeting her in nevada more than a year ago. she told me she loved me, and i believed it. i wanted to believe it. opal, you re incredible. a daughter of texas. grandmother of the movement to make juneteenth a federal holiday. ms. opal, you won t believe it, she s 49 years old. or 94 years old. you are an incredible woman. you really are. as a child growing up in texas, she and her family would celebrate juneteenth. juneteenth, 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