Opal Lee, the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” has been gifted the land that her family’s home sat on 80 years ago before a racist mob damaged their property.
According to WFAA, Habitat for Humanity is gifting Lee, 97, back the land that her family previously owned in Fort Worth, Texas.
Lee, a civil rights activist who led efforts to make Juneteenth a national holiday, initially contacted Gage Yager, the CEO of Trinity Habitat for Humanity, when she noticed the organization owned the lot. She offered to buy the land, but Yager said he would instead gift it to her.
“You know, it pulls up on my phone, I say, ‘Hey Opal, how are you doing?’” Yager told WFAA. “And she’s like, ‘You guys own my lot at 940 East Annie.’ She’s like, ‘Gage, can I buy that lot from you?’ And I say, ‘You know Opal, we’re not going to sell you that lot. But we’ll give you that lot.’”
The organization is also building a home for Lee on the land.
“I could have done a holy dance, I tell you,” Lee told WFAA. “That was really, oh boy!”
The building broke ground in September amid Lee’s birthday.
“We’re there to partner with a friend to build a home and in a little way erase a big negative from all those years ago,” Yager said. “How can it not be, with all the hate and violence that’s been out there … to play a small part in a bigger story and hopefully a narrative that’s going in a good direction.”
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