DALLAS — Texas civil rights leader Opal Lee, who is known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” has had a busy month.

What You Need To Know

  • On May 3, President Joe Biden awarded Opal Lee the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and on Saturday, Lee received an honorary doctorate from Southern Methodist University

  • Lee has been a staple of the Fort Worth community for decades as she tirelessly led a grassroots campaign to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, which commemorates the day when the last slaves in Galveston, Texas, learned of emancipation on June 19, 1865

  • Lee ran her own Juneteenth museum in Fort Worth for years, but now, a $70 million, 50,000-square-foot museum will take its place. It is expected to open on June 19, 2025, and the museum will also include a cultural center and a business incubator 

  • Lee has received seven other honorary doctorates in the past, including from the University of North Texas just last year

On May 3, President Joe Biden awarded Lee the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and on Saturday, Lee received an honorary doctorate from Southern Methodist University. 

SMU gave the 97-year-old community organizer an honorary doctor of humane letters degree during the university’s commencement ceremony. 

Lee has been a staple of the Fort Worth community for decades as she tirelessly led a grassroots campaign to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, which commemorates the day when the last slaves in Galveston, Texas, learned of emancipation on June 19, 1865. 

In 2016, Lee—who was 89 at the time—conducted a symbolic walk from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C., to urge lawmakers to make Juneteenth a national holiday. 

Her hard work paid off when Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Act into law in 2021. 

Lee started off the weekend at SMU on Thursday evening at a symposium with her granddaughter, Dione Sims—the founding executive director of the National Juneteenth Museum. Lee ran her own Juneteenth museum in Fort Worth for years, but now, a $70 million, 50,000-square-foot museum will take its place. It is expected to open on June 19, 2025, and the museum will also include a cultural center and a business incubator. 

“Having Ms. Lee join us at commencement and share her work through a symposium is a signal honor for our University,” said SMU President R. Gerald Turner in a news release. “Her life’s work is most deserving of this recognition, and our students will be inspired by her.”

And this isn’t her first honorary doctorate. Lee has received seven other honorary doctorates in the past, including from the University of North Texas just last year.