FORT WORTH, TX, April 19, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Social impact leader and 'Grandmother of Juneteenth,' Ms. Opal Lee will officially embark on her 2021 Juneteenth: The Road To Unity tour on Friday, April 23 in Topeka, Kansas in partnership with the Topeka Family & Friends Juneteenth Celebration Inc.
This follows on from Ms. Opal’s press conference at the National Press Club in Washington in February, where she launched the 2021 Juneteenth campaign – a move that prompted the reintroduction of the bipartisan bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, and special livestream event with ten-time NBA All-Star and philanthropist, Carmelo Anthony on CAA’s Amplify platform at the end of last month.
While in Topeka Ms. Opal will take part in a meet and greet at The Big Shelter House in Gage Park, 635 SW Gage Bld, Topeka, KS at 5:30pm on April 23, where members of the public will have the chance to speak with the 94-year old, learn about her plans for Juneteenth 2021, get autographs, take pictures, and purchase a copy of her Juneteenth: A Children’s Story book.
A Unity Walk is also being held on Saturday, April 24 at 10:00am at the Kansas State Capitol (south steps), 300 SW 10th Avenue, Topeka, KS, where Ms. Opal and Mayor Michelle De La Isla will address attendees.
The visit to Topeka is one of many stops Ms. Opal will be making as part of her 2021 Juneteenth tour, which will also include a walk and celebration in her home town of Fort Worth, Texas on June 19th. More details about this exciting event, including information about how supporters can get involved, will be shared in the coming weeks.
Ms. Opal said: "This little old lady is so grateful to have been able to speak with some really great young people like Carmelo this year, and now as I head out on my 2021 Juneteenth tour, I’m looking forward to meeting all of you to talk all things Juneteenth and spread the word far and wide, that we should be celebrating freedom from June 19 to July 4 because none of us are free until we’re all free.
"If you’re in Topeka later this week please come and say hello, join me on my walk, or contact the young people on my team and we can even speak on Zoom!"
###
USEFUL LINKS:
- Read about and watch Ms. Opal’s press conference here.
- Watch Juneteenth: The Road To Unity with Ms. Opal Lee and Carmelo Anthony here.
- Watch Ms. Opal’s recent interview with Dr. Sean McMillan on his FOX SOUL show, The Book of Sean here.
- Ms. Opal received Visit Fort Worth’s Hospitality Award in February. Watch their moving tribute video here.
- Learn more about Ms. Opal and sign her Change.org petition to make Juneteenth a national holiday via her website.
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/
Attachment