{"id":640,"date":"2023-06-02T04:02:38","date_gmt":"2023-06-02T04:02:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/home\/?p=640"},"modified":"2024-03-24T03:36:11","modified_gmt":"2024-03-24T03:36:11","slug":"opal-lee-and-what-it-means-to-be-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/home\/opal-lee-and-what-it-means-to-be-free\/","title":{"rendered":"Opal Lee And What it Means to be Free"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.15.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_4,3_4″ _builder_version=”4.15.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.15.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/opal-lee-249×300.jpeg” title_text=”opal lee” url=”https:\/\/amzn.to\/3C5T115″ url_new_window=”on” _builder_version=”4.15.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”4.15.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_post_title _builder_version=”4.15.1″ _module_preset=”default” text_orientation=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.15.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.15.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.15.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.15.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.15.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.15.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.15.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”0px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]

Opal Lee Helped Make Juneteenth a National Holiday<\/h1>\n

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In Opal Lee and What it Means to be Free<\/a>, Opal Lee remembers her grandfather’s stories of growing up just after the Emancipation Proclamation and the earliest Juneteenth celebrations that followed. As a Civil Rights activist, she uses stories to gather groups together and share a moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She gained national attention when she used her voice – and her feet – to gather over a million signatures to make Juneteenth a national holiday, which President Biden made official on June 17, 2021, five years after she began her mission.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Themes<\/h2>\n

Stories Unite Us<\/h4>\n

What I loved about this story was that it begins with children running towards Opal Lee and begging for a Juneteenth story. She recounts the struggles and the beauty. As a reader, you also become one of the listeners to her words.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Racism Means Free but Not<\/h4>\n

A very poignant part of the book is when Opal recounts how Black Americans would celebrate Juneteenth and how it meant celebrating freedom from enslavement, while at the same time not being allowed to shop where they wanted to, see movies and sit where they wanted to, or even go to the same activities around town.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reading books like this one make talking about our country’s history more of a conversation than an awkward “lesson.” Through Opal’s memories, children read about segregation and racism from the perspective of someone who experienced it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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