Opal Lee Unable to Attend Walk for Freedom Due to Health Concerns

DALLAS — Opal Lee, widely recognized as the ‘Grandmother of Juneteenth,’ will not participate in this year’s Walk for Freedom event in Fort Worth due to health issues. Her granddaughter, Dione Sims, confirmed this news to WFAA on Tuesday.

Sims stated that Lee’s doctors are worried about her health, especially with the forecasted heat. This marks the first time Lee will miss leading the annual Juneteenth event, which honors the two-and-a-half-year delay between the Emancipation Proclamation and the freedom of enslaved people in Texas.

‘It is our plan to have Miss Opal in the safest situation possible, but still able to enjoy the walk that she had the vision for,’ Sims told WFAA’s Scoop Jefferson. ‘So, she may be present and she may not. But right now, we’re planning on not.’ She added that if Lee does attend, she will be in a vehicle but will also join virtually if necessary.

Lee was previously hospitalized due to an unknown medical issue after traveling to Cincinnati, Ohio, to receive the International Freedom Conductors Award on May 23. She was released from the hospital in early June and has been recovering at home since then.

In Lee’s absence, Sims, who is also the president and founder of Unity Unlimited Incorporated, will lead the 2.5-mile walk. Lee has been an influential figure in the movement to recognize Juneteenth, which President Joe Biden declared a federal holiday in 2021 after decades of advocacy.

During a recent interview, Sims discussed the impact of the upcoming National Juneteenth Museum, stating, ‘The ability for us to impact, not just Fort Worth, but the nation, with the story of Emancipation, wherever it happened, is the beauty of the National Juneteenth Museum.’

Opal’s Walk for Freedom is set to begin shortly. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.