Crystal Wise/Fort Worth Magazine
Opal Lee
She’s walked to Washington. She’s stood before presidents. And now, Opal Lee has two-stepped her way into the heart of country music.
Ahead of the 60th Academy of Country Music Awards held in Frisco last week, the “Grandmother of Juneteenth” was honored at the second annual “I’m Just Me: A Charley Pride Celebration of Inclusion” brunch — an event recognizing those who have broken barriers and built bridges in the industry.
As reported by Spectrum News 1, the 98-year-old Fort Worth legend accepted the honor with a mix of surprise and characteristic wit. “I wondered if they made a mistake,” Lee said. “Cause I’m just a little old lady in tennis shoes getting in everybody’s business, and I’m everybody’s grandma, and I didn’t know what they were making a fuss about. I hardly know how to sing.”
But Grammy-nominated country artist Mickey Guyton, who hosted the brunch, left no room for doubt. “She is such an important person that she should be honored every year,” Guyton said. “Like they should have the Opal Lee Award because she is just so important to us and to the Black community.”
Lee joined a slate of honorees that included Guyton herself, Lionel Richie, Brittney Spencer, and Shaboozey — figures who, much like the late Charley Pride, are expanding country music’s sound, scope, and soul.
Pride, the son of Mississippi sharecroppers turned trailblazing country star, was the first Black artist to reach No. 1 on the country charts. The event bearing his name is both celebration and remembrance. “I would love to see him honored a little bit more because he was really an icon,” said Rozene Pride, his widow. “He loved country music, and he was the first, of course, Black to sing country music.”
Decades after Pride blazed his trail, Lee’s presence at the event was a powerful reminder of the work still being done to widen country music’s circle — and to keep history alive in the process.
“History is so important,” said Guyton. “And no matter who tries to erase it, it will always be here, no matter whether you like it or not… We will never be erased. And so, while the world is trying to do that, we are line dancing, we are resting, and celebrating each other.”
