Groundbreaking held for Opal Lee's new home on her 97th birthday
FORT WORTH, Texas - A groundbreaking was held Saturday for the new home being built for Opal Lee, the Grandmother of Juneteenth.
It took place on her 97th birthday.
"Housing has always been something I wanted to see everybody have. I’ve lived in shotgun houses. I’ve lived in houses where the roof leaked," Lee said.
What’s inspiring about the home is that Lee is coming back to live on the lot after her family was driven out by rioters.
On June 19, 1939, white rioters gathered to harass, vandalize, and burn down her family’s home when she was only 12 years old.
"I know our parents sent us to friends several blocks away because the police had said if my dad - who came home with a gun - busted a cap, they would let the mob have us," she recalled.
Lee said her parents left under the cover of night.
"When those people knew there was nobody there, they went in and started pulling out the furniture, burning it. They did despicable things," Lee said.
Lee said she’s grateful for how the community has changed.
"It’s gratifying to know that I don’t have to worry about when I get in this house that somebody’s going to tear it down. That the people in the neighborhood are going to be friends," she said. "The fact that perhaps this is a turning point. You know? Perhaps those 500 people that were here learned something. Perhaps they’re old like I am or even gone on."
Lee is one of Trinity Habitat for Humanity’s founding board members.
"I saw Habitat’s sign in a yard on a very prominent street, they were doing rehab to the house. So I went up and asked them. I wanted to know if I could join the board," she said.
Decades later, Habitat happened to purchase the very lot where Lee’s home was burned down.
"Opal called me up and said, ‘Gage, I see you guys own my lot at 940 E Annie,’ and I was like, ‘We do?’ recalled Gage Yager, with the Trinity Habitat for Humanity.
Opal Lee, the 'Grandmother of Juneteenth,' getting a new home for her 97th birthday
The Grandmother of Juneteenth is turning 97 years old this weekend, and her community in Fort Worth is celebrating with two days of events.
After discussing with her family, Lee decided to move back to the neighborhood.
"God has a plan. His plan is always better than our plan. Certainly, better than my plan. Yeah, something was in the air with us happening to buy this lot," Yager said.
Lee believes racism can be addressed by changing one mind at a time.
"Their minds can be changed, I believe that. Because I’ve changed a few," she said.
The home, funded by Citizens Concerned with Human Dignity, is set to take six months to build.
"I plan to live to see it, so there," Lee said.