FORT WORTH, TX, May 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today Unity Unlimited announces details of social impact leader and 'Grandmother of Juneteenth,' Ms. Opal Lee’s annual 2.5 mile walk through her hometown, an initiative supported by TRWD and Visit Fort Worth that aims to raise awareness of the importance of making Juneteenth a nationally recognized holiday. This year, the walk is launching nationally!
Taking place on June 19, 2021 from 10AM CST, the 2.5 mile walk will begin at Evans Avenue Plaza in the historic Southside and conclude at the Courthouse in downtown Fort Worth. Ms. Opal will march past several notable sites that relate to the Black communities of her city, and share powerful stories about these locations.
Opal’s Walk Live will be livestreamed exclusively via the FOX SOUL streaming platform, which can be found at YouTube.com/FOXSOUL and FOXSOUL.TV, as well as on Roku, Samsung TV Plus, Tubi and more. It will not only cover the Fort Worth event, but the virtual events taking place in other cities across the country as well. Here spokespeople will share stories about their own cities, in an effort designed to show that having Juneteenth as a federal holiday is truly a national movement.
"If the federal government will not formally apologize for our enslavement, then certainly it should officially codify the celebration of our freedom,” said Dr. Sean McMillan, host of FOX SOUL’s The Book of Sean. “Juneteenth has never been more necessary than it is right now. Be a part of it from wherever you are."
Ms. Opal is excited to see Juneteenth celebrations expand across the country, and reminds us that: "Juneteenth is an American holiday, not just a Texas holiday, and it’s an important day for ALL Americans to recognize our history. Come join me in celebrating Juneteenth, and our freedom from this day right through to the 4th of July!"
Currently, virtual walks are set to take place in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Detroit, Atlanta, and New York City.
People across the country are invited to participate in the walk with Ms. Opal. Register here to sign up individually or to organize a walk in your area. All proceeds from the walk registration and donations will support Unity Unlimited in its efforts to bring awareness to the importance of Juneteenth being a national federal holiday.
With Unity Unlimited’s give back program, groups are also able to sponsor their own fundraiser, and a portion of the proceeds raised by them will benefit their organization. Learn more about this fundraising opportunity here.
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About Ms. Opal Lee
Ms. Opal is the oldest living board member of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF) that was founded and led by the late Dr. Ronald Myers, Sr., whose initiative is for Juneteenth to become a national holiday. To bring awareness to the cause, she started her Opal’s Walk 2 DC campaign in 2016, where she walked 2.5 miles to symbolize the 2.5 years that it took for slaves in Texas to know that they were free. Ms. Opal launched a petition to make Juneteenth a national holiday on Change.org, and in September 2020 delivered the 1.5 million signatures it had received to Congress. Ms. Opal believes that freedom should be celebrated from the 19th of June to the 4th of July. Head to https://adobe.ly/3hs3jg0 for more.
About Unity Unlimited, Inc.
Unity Unlimited, Inc. is a non-profit organization whose main mission is providing educational activities and resources to people, young and old, to foster unity and harmony within the community, the city, the state, the nation and the world regardless of race, culture or denomination. For more information visit: www.unityunlimited.org/
About FOX SOUL
FOX SOUL is the Black community’s premiere free streaming platform serving UNAPOLOGETICALLY BLACK, CONSUMABLE BY ALL entertainment around the clock to 44+ million viewers. With over 1,300 hours of live and interactive programming annually, we are home to some of the most iconic faces and voices of our culture: Cocktails with Queens hosted by Claudia Jordan, the award-winning FOX SOUL's Black Report, the black filmmaker showcase known as FOX SOUL's Screening Room hosted by Vivica A. Fox, Get Into It with Tami Roman, Worth a Conversation with Jay “Jeezy” Jenkins, The Book of Sean hosted by Dr. Sean McMillan, and more. We share YOUR voice and YOUR Truth 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more information on FOX SOUL, visit us on YouTube.com/FOXSOUL and FOXSOUL.TV.
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