06/14/2024

Woman Gets Keys to her Home 85 Years after a Racist Mob Drove her Family from That Lot

Opal Lee plans to hold an open house to meet her new neighbors

Opal Lee, the 97-year-old Texan known for her push to make Juneteenth a national holiday, was given the keys Friday to her new home, which was built on the same tree-lined corner lot in Fort Worth that her family was driven from by a racist mob when she was 12.

"I'm so happy I don't know what to do," said Lee, sitting in a rocking chair on the porch of the home just before the ceremony.

The ceremony to welcome Lee into the newly completed home comes just days before the nation celebrates Juneteenth, the holiday marking the end of slavery across the U.S. that means so much to Lee. Several area groups came together to build and furnish the house, which was completed less than three months after the first wall was raised.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Associated Press.