The event was modeled after “Grandmother of Juneteenth” Opal Lee's annual Walk for Freedom, a 2.5-mile walk that serves as a reminder that it took 2.5 years after the Emancipation Proclamation for the news to reach South Texas. 

On Tuesday, Opal Lee, known as the Grandmother of Juneteenth, visited Cook Children’s Medical Center – Fort Worth with her granddaughter, Dione Sims, to educate health care professionals on the importance of Juneteenth and its impact on children.

Anu Partap, M.D., M.P.H., Medical Director of Health Equity Integration at Cook Children’s, hosted Lee, alongside Sims, to educate and inform physicians on education, health and resilience in childhood during Pediatric Grand Rounds.

“She is a poster child for unity, strength, resilience and for overcoming childhood adversity and trauma. To such a degree, that there is no better icon,” Sims said when asked about her grandmother.

Juneteenth is a federal holiday that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in the U.S. On June 19, 1865, Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, TX, to tell the enslaved people that they were free. Lee says Juneteenth is important because it addresses many different issues and encourages children to reach for their dreams.

“Fourth of July freed the land, Juneteenth freed the people,” Lee said.

Sims said Juneteenth is not “just a date on the calendar,” but it brings people together and gives people hope.

“The freedom that Juneteenth represents… we need children to think about greater things that help shape where they’re going and gives them the ability to think outside the box,” Sims said.

Following the conversation with Lee and Sims, Dr. Partap announced the “Every Step Counts” grant, where staff can apply to fund their idea to improve health equity.

After Pediatric Grand Rounds, Lee read the book that she wrote, Juneteenth A Children’s Story, to children and parents. Lee’s greatest piece of advice to the children and adults in the room was to help others:

“We all are our brother’s keepers, that’s what the Bible tells us," she said. "And the little ones we certainly should nurture if we don’t do anything else.”

This year’s celebration of Juneteenth falls on Father’s Day – an occurrence that won’t happen again until 2033, 2044 and 2050.

For many of us, June 19 will be a day of celebration; however, for numerous others, including me, it will be a time of reflection. 

I will think about my father, Clement Washington, who was the calming influence in our family. My mother was a character, full of vim and vigor. 

My dad, on the other hand, was the quiet authority figure in my house. He didn’t say a lot, but when he did speak, we knew we’d better listen. 

I miss my father and think about him almost daily. My relationship with him is complicated. I love my father with all my heart and think about how he shaped the person I am today.

I reflect on Juneteenth in much the same way. The day represents sufferings that have helped to shape the state and the nation we are today.

A little history

June 19 certainly reminds us of Texas’s and our country’s grim past in race relations. Juneteenth also prompts us to see how far we’ve come and that there is still work to do.

Juneteenth celebrates the declared liberation of the last remaining slaves of the Confederate States of America. June 19, 1865 in Galveston, Texas, there were still slaves two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation went into effect Jan. 1, 1863.

Even after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered April 9, 1865, slaves remained in Texas. It was still two months later – June 19, 1865 – when Union Army General Gordon Granger finally proclaimed General Order No. 3 and declared, “All slaves are free.”

The freedmen were advised to “remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages.”

As Michael Davis wrote in the National Archive News, “While the order was critical to expanding freedom to enslaved people, the racist language used in the last sentences foreshadowed that the fight for equal rights would continue.”

The one and only Opal Lee

I want to thank the noble fighters and my fellow PR professionals across the country who continue to do good work to bring attention to Black people’s struggles and triumphs throughout our nation’s history. I especially want to recognize the “grandmother of Juneteenth,” Fort Worth’s own Opal Lee.

Ms. Opal walked from Fort Worth to Washington D.C. to draw attention to the true meaning of Juneteenth. Opal’s advocacy paid off in 2021 when June 19 was designated a federal holiday.

I am so proud of Opal Lee and everyone who worked determinedly for us to understand the significance of this date for Texans and for Americans.

I will take this Father’s Day to reflect on my own father and all fathers who were finally declared “freedmen.” They clothed themselves in dignity when so many tried to strip them of their liberties. Happy Father's Day everyone and Happy Juneteenth.