Stephen Montoya
If there’s one thing Dr. Opal Lee is known for outside of being the Grandmother of Juneteenth, it’s hard work and dedication. Lee has spent most of her adult life as a teacher, a counselor, and an activist. But being principal for the day at the IDEA Achieve charter school in Haltom City, Monday was a first for the North Texas icon. Lee, Along with IDEA Achieve head principal Giovanni Outram, took on the roles of mentors as students displayed their school’s vegetable garden with pride.
The garden, which spans nearly a half acre in size, is actually used to supplement the food at the school’s cafeteria. According to Outram, the students pick, wash and eat the vegetables from the garden, which gives them a sense of pride. It was in a similar garden that Lee says she remembers working as a child.
“When I was growing up in Texarkana Arkansas, we had a kitchen garden right out the back door, so whatever was growing there, is what the family ate,” Lee said while watching the students pick vegetables.
Lee says she remembers a truck patch on the north side of the house her family used as a vegetable surplus to sell at the local market on Saturdays. The rest of the 40 acres, she says, was planted with items like cotton, corn, peanuts, and cucumbers, just to name a few. “Then there were orchards, … I tell you I didn’t know any better,” she said with a smile of naivete. “I loved every minute of it.”
Lee says the garden was a major part of her and her family’s food source since her grandparents had 19 children, including three sets of twins to feed and raise.
After reminiscing in the garden, Lee was escorted to the school’s gymnasium by the staff and the students, so she could read one of her books titled “Juneteenth” to a class of elementary students. After she was done with the reading, she answered questions from a few of the students.
One of the students asked the civil rights icon what one of her proudest achievements was. Lee responded by saying, “One day I decided to walk from Fort Worth to Washington D.C.,” she said. “I thought If I took that 1,400-mile trek, someone would take notice of what I was doing and ask why. They did and on June 17th, 2021, President Joe Biden signed Senate Bill S. 475, making Juneteenth the eleventh federal holiday.” Lee was met with thunderous applause. But this wasn’t the only accolade Lee would receive this week. On Sunday, May 21st, she was also presented with the African Film Festival (TAFF) 2023 Legendary Award. Lee was recognized as a legend in her own time, and for being forthright enough to take that fateful walk.
“To reach your greatest potential, you have to study hard,” she told the students. “Obey your teachers, obey your parents, and one day when you reach the age of 35, you can be president of the United States of America.”