Opal Lee talks about her trip to Japan, May 14, 2024, at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Opal Lee, the grandmother of Juneteenth, is taking her mission international with a trip to Japan.
Lee, 97, will spend 10 days abroad sharing her life story, the message of freedom, and the story of Juneteenth.
"We've not always had it [freedom]. I'm not sure about the Japanese. But I'm hoping that what we say and do resonates with those there and that we express what freedom is all about," Lee told NBC 5 on Tuesday morning.
Lee is a civil rights icon who championed Juneteenth awareness, an informal Texas holiday celebrated since Reconstruction recognizing the day in 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, when Black slaves in Galveston, and eventually the entire state, learned they were free.
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After the state made Juneteenth a holiday in 1980, Lee worked for the next four decades to get the holiday recognized nationally. In 2021, Biden signed a law making it the nation's 11th federal holiday.
Several organizations put together Lee's trip to Japan. During the visit, Lee will stop at a U.S. Naval base and participate in several celebrations including a Juneteenth walk.
Earlier this month, Lee was among 19 people honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest honor for civilians.
