FORT WORTH, TX, Jan. 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today Unity Unlimited announces that social impact leader and 'Grandmother of Juneteenth,' Ms. Opal Lee is the recipient of three prestigious awards.
The inaugural International Peace Honors, which celebrate the most prominent world leaders and change-agents of our time, whose common goal is to build a more just and equitable future, will honor Ms. Opal during a live ceremony at 8:00pm ET / 5:00pm PT on January 17. She joins an esteemed group of people, with fellow honorees including Dr. Anthony Fauci, Opal Tometi, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter, singer-songwriter and Human Rights Activist, Ricky Martin and more.
Visit Fort Worth, the tourism marketing organization for the nation’s 13th largest city, will present Ms. Opal with their coveted annual Hospitality Award at the organization’s socially distanced annual meeting and breakfast on February 5. She has been selected for her efforts to make Fort Worth a more welcoming community. Previous honorees include Fort Worth’s Mayor Betsy Price, singer and songwriter Leon Bridges, and Holt Hickman, who revived the city’s Stockyards district.
In more exciting news, memoir writing service, StoryTerrace, has chosen Ms. Opal as the Leading Hero in their search for the Unsung Heroes of COVID-19 in 2020. The StoryTerrace Unsung Heroes of COVID-19 initiative sought to find ordinary people doing extraordinary things during the pandemic. Ms. Opal’s entry – submitted by a dear friend unbeknownst to her – was selected from nearly 500 applicants. She and 24 others have been recognized; however, Ms. Opal was named the Leading Hero of the campaign.
Her story is being included in a compilation book of the top 25 Unsung Heroes of COVID-19, due to be released later this year, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Unity Unlimited.
Ms. Opal said: "Wow! I can’t believe I’m being recognized alongside so many amazing young people. Having lived in Fort Worth since I was 10, I love my city and helping people have a better life here is something I try to do every day, so thank you, Visit Fort Worth for your ongoing support.
"I’m incredibly grateful to StoryTerrace for the opportunity to tell my story and educate people around the world about the importance of making Juneteenth a national holiday. I truly believe Juneteenth is a unifier and can be the bridge that can bring people together to talk about the hard issues facing our country."
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Watch the International Peace Honors live stream here.
Watch Ms.Opal’s StoryTerrace Unsung Hero reveal here.
Sign Ms.Opal’s petition to make Juneteenth a national holiday here.
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. Visit Ms. Opal's EPK 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/
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