A Fort Worth civil rights icon is finally coming home. 85 years ago, a racist mob burned down the family home of Opal Lee, known as the Grandmother of Juneteenth. Friday Lee was handed the keys to her new home built on the exact same site. NBC 5’s Alanna Quillen was there.
In Fort Worth, a civil rights icon is finally coming home.
It’s a homecoming 85 years in the making.
Dr. Opal Lee, known as the Grandmother of Juneteenth, saw her brand new home on Annie Street for the first time on Friday morning.
"I don't have but one word – scrumptious,” she said with a laugh. “I am so happy. I just wish everybody could be as happy as I am now.”
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The light in her eyes overseeing the house turned into a bittersweet moment, knowing that her family experienced their darkest days on that very plot of land.
While she doesn’t remember much, Lee said she knows what happened at her family home in 1939, in an area now known as the Historic Southside Neighborhood. At the time, they were the first Black family to move to the neighborhood.
"Would you believe that the newspaper said there were about 500 people gathered across the street over there," Lee said. "And do you know the policemen were all there and when my dad came home from work with a gun the police told him if he busted a cap, they would let the mob have us."
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That day, that angry mob burned her family home to the ground. She said at the time she barely knew what was happening.
"Our parents worked like Trojans to get us out of there. They took us down a few blocks and that's where we stayed," Lee said.
Decades have passed and Lee has used her time wisely. Advocating for voters’ rights, for the rights of the unhoused, literacy for children and walking to Washington, D.C. to get the attention of lawmakers and President Joe Biden to get Juneteenth designated as a federal holiday.
She never lost sight of the fact that she wanted that land her family's home used to stand on, that has been vacant for so long. Lee eventually found out that Trinity Habitat for Humanity owned that land, a nonprofit that coincidentally, she is a founding member of.
"I was going to put a house on it for sale and then Habitat brought me the plans of a house they planned to build. I was so happy I could have done a Holy dance! I was awestruck. I didn't know how to act and I have decided that house that the house I live in, I'm going to leave [that house] and only bring my toothbrush to the new one," Lee said.
For their part in history, Trinity Habitat’s CEO Gage Yager partnered with Dr. Lee’s nonprofit, Citizens Concerned with Human Dignity, to break ground on the historic lot. They told NBC 5 it was a fitting gift for Lee’s lifelong dedication to racial justice, affordable housing, and her influence within the community. They sold the land to her for $10, just to make the transaction legal.
After construction began in early spring, the home was complete by early June. Prior to the build, Dr. Lee visited the HistoryMaker Homes design center where she selected all of the flooring, fixtures and lighting for her home. Texas Capital also provided a grant to allow her to furnish the home, creating a comfortable and welcoming space.
JCPenney, a longstanding supporter of Dr. Lee, donated small kitchen appliances, dinnerware, and home décor for her kitchen and living spaces as well as all linens for her bedrooms and bathrooms.
The new homecoming was marked with a ceremony featuring local activists, community leaders and supporters – all celebrating a significant new chapter in Dr. Lee’s enduring legacy.
"This world should be one where there's no strife. And I don't know how that will happen but I'm looking forward to being a peaceful old lady,” she said.
