The “grandmother of Juneteenth” and contributor to some of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s most famous speeches was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Bidet on Friday at the White House.
They were among 19 people, including current and former members of Congress, to receive the highest civilian honor.
Opal Lee, known as the “Grandma of Juneteenth” for her decades-long campaign to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, is a 97-year-old retired Texas educator. After her ceremony, Ms. Lee said she didn't know how to describe how she felt: “She's in a room with people who have accomplished so much.” ” she said. Honorees included Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh, television journalism icon Phil Donahue, former New York City mayor and businessman Michael Bloomberg, and Olympic gold medalist Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky. .
“Making Juneteenth a national holiday is something many of us have wanted for a long time,” Lee said. “There's still a lot of work to do.”
Speaking to a packed East Room, Biden called the honorees “incredible people” whose “relentless curiosity and ingenuity, ingenuity and hope have preserved faith and a better tomorrow.”
Other honorees include Clarence B. Jones, who served as Dr. King's lawyer and helped draft his “I Have a Dream” speech, and prominent black figures such as the late civil rights activist Medgar Evers. is also included.
The Evers Award was awarded posthumously to his daughter, Leena Everett.
Mr. Biden praised Mr. Evers as a “patriot who was struck by the poison of white supremacy” and whose “spirit endures.” He praised Jones' “power to wield.”[ing] He used his pen as a sword and gave words to a movement that created freedom for millions of people. ”
Close allies of Mr. Biden also received the honor, including former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and current Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Former Vice President Al Gore. Former Secretary of State John Kerry recently served as Biden's climate czar. Congressman James “Jim” Clyburn (D.C.), who Biden recognized for his presidential performance.
“If it wasn't for Jim, I wouldn't be here as president,” Biden said of the 83-year-old Clyburn, who particularly supported Biden in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary and rescued his then-struggling campaign. If he hadn't, he wouldn't have won an award like this.”
Lee walked 4.5 miles to commemorate the two-and-a-half years it took for enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, to learn that they had been freed by President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. I planned it.
In 2021, Biden signed the June 19 National Independence Day Act, establishing June 19 as a federal holiday. When she signed the bill into law, she handed Lee the first of many pens she used to sign the bill.
“Juneteenth is a day of deep weight and power to remember the original sin of slavery and our extraordinary ability to unite our most painful moments for a better vision of ourselves,” Biden said. . “MS. Opal Lee has made it her mission to create history, not erase it. We are a better country because of you.”
The Presidential Medal of Freedom was first established in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy. Among the civilians who received presidential honors were civil rights activist Rosa Parks, former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, former South African President Nelson Mandela, author Maya Angelou and actor These include Sidney Poitier, activist Bayard Rustin, entertainment mogul Oprah Winfrey, and athletes. Michael Jordan etc.
After presenting the award, Biden concluded his speech by saying, “You're proud to be an American, right?” He enters a room filled with applause.
Vice President Kamala Harris congratulated the winners in a social media post on Saturday, sharing a photo with Biden and Lee.
“You represent the best of America,” she wrote in the post.
