Dr. Opal Lee has been dubbed the grandmother of Juneteenth, and now she has a Barbie in her honor.
At the age of 12, Lee experienced the unimaginable when a white mob attacked and burned down her family’s newly purchased home. The traumatic event, which occurred because they moved into a predominantly white neighborhood, led to Lee’s family being forced to leave, and it also planted a seed for what has become her lifelong activism, including fighting for the national observance of Juneteenth.
The walk of a lifetime
Lee, who turned 99 on Oct. 7, cemented herself in history when, at age 89, she walked from Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C., on a mission to raise awareness and get Congress to recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday.
Starting in 2016, Lee walked in 2.5-mile segments throughout various cities in the nation to commemorate the 2.5 years it took after the Emancipation Proclamation for freedom to finally reach Texas on June 19, 1865 — the very reason that Black people across the nation had been celebrating Juneteenth prior to the country’s national observance of the holiday.
After delivering a petition with over 1.5 million signatures after the conclusion of her journey, Lee’s efforts ultimately led to Juneteenth becoming a federal holiday in 2021, thus making her the Grandmother of Juneteenth.
“Being the grandmother of so many, and I can’t seem to get my arms around them like I would my grandchildren who are close to me, but I want them to know that I love them, and that there are so many things that I want to pass on to them,” Lee told Blavity in a recent interview. “I think of grandchildren, and there’s so much I want them to know. So much I want them to understand. To make their lives better than mine was. So, whenever I can, I’ll be talking to grandchildren, and hoping that they understand.”
Barbie’s latest Inspiring Women Doll
In celebration of Black History Month, Barbie is honoring Lee as a part of its Inspiring Women Doll collection, which includes other notable figures like Ida B. Wells, Madam C.J. Walker, Venus Willams and a host of other contemporary heroines.
“I was flabbergasted,” Lee said when asked about her first impression when holding the new Barbie doll. “I was so stunned. I appreciate Barbie. She has a reputation for being someone who others admire, and others want to emulate, so I’m a fan of Barbie, and I’m delighted to be known as somebody that inspires women. I tell you, I don’t know how else I could explain it.”
Dione Sims, Lee’s granddaughter, remained by her grandmother’s side throughout her journey to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. Sims also recently entered the race for Congress in Fort Worth.
“Having grown up with several Barbies, and my own Barbie townhouse, Barbie car, and to come and see someone that I know — because Barbie was a toy, right?” Sims said. “But this whole Inspiring Women’s Collection is bringing people that we see, maybe on screen, or even historical figures that, if we had really good schools, we learned about them. But to see them in an action figure and in a tangible moment is amazing.”
She added, “Then, for one of those to be my own grandmother, someone that I’ve grown up with, admired. And to see that the world will now — I mean, young girls will now get to learn some history, and that will then make them go research. And again, these are probably going to be collector’s items, so they might now be played with. This to me is showing a whole new generation, giving them a chance to see the possibilities of older people. That’s the neat thing. They don’t think that Barbie’s only a young mother or a working woman. She’s been president, but now there is an older person, and I really do hope our senior citizens feel empowered to see that. You don’t have to sit in a rocking chair and wait to get old, right? You can still continue to live. I think it’s going to inspire people on a whole lot of levels, this particular doll.”
Lee’s hope for future generations
For Lee, who is just as ferocious in her love for community as she was when this all started, she has one charge to the youth of today.
“We are our brother’s keeper, and our young people should be able to look after the elderly, not just leave them in their rocking chairs, but to see that they are able to pass on the wisdom they’ve learned,” Lee concluded.
She added, “So as one of those old ones, I’m looking forward to be able to pass on some things I know.”
The Opal Lee Inspiring Women Barbie Doll will be available for purchase on Mattel Shop starting Jan. 22.