Latest news with #DioneSims
CBS News
19-06-2025
- General
- CBS News
Opal Lee didn't attend her annual Walk for Freedom in Fort Worth, but her legacy still led the way
Opal Lee's Walk for Freedom wrapped up in Fort Worth Thursday morning, but it was missing the person who started it all. Lee's granddaughter, Dione Sims, told the crowd before the walk that Lee wouldn't participate or even be in attendance due to her recent health scare. Although Lee didn't walk this year, her legacy still led the way. "I knew this day would come, but I didn't want it to come," Sims said. "I was talking to her Monday, and she told me, 'You got it, just keep it going.' And that's what I'm doing." The crowd stepped off just after 9 a.m. Thursday, Juneteenth, in Fort Worth's Cultural District. This year, participants proudly held signs and balloons carrying forward a mission that started long before Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021. The North Texas icon has walked two and a half miles every Juneteenth to symbolize the two and a half years it took for enslaved people in Texas to learn they were free, after the Emancipation Proclamation. There was a deep sense of pride and purpose among the walkers. "Ms. Opal Lee has done some amazing things," said Erica Goosby, a Walk for Freedom participant. "She's from my neighborhood. I'm like a third-party relative and she's a grandmother to all of us and I love her for what she has done for us, empowering the Emancipation [Proclamation] even more." The goal is to hold a walk in all 50 states next year. Lee's team also said they plan to hold a major event in Washington, D.C. next Juneteenth, in honor of the U.S. turning 250.
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘Grandmother of Juneteenth' Opal Lee Will Not Be in Annual Walk for Freedom After Recent Hospitalization
Opal Lee, also known as "The Grandmother of Juneteenth," will miss marching in this year's Walk of Freedom event The 98-year-old was recently hospitalized, which led to her first time sitting out the march since it launched in 2016 This year marks the 160th anniversary of JuneteenthOpal Lee, known to many as "The Grandmother of Juneteenth," will not participate in this year's Walk for Freedom march due to a recent hospitalization. Since the Fort Worth, Texas, event launched in 2016, Lee has never missed one. However, while traveling to receive the International Freedom Conductor Award at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Ohio in May, she was hospitalized, KDFW reported at the time. 'She's 98 and the family really wants to keep her in,' her granddaughter, Dione Sims, told the Fort Worth Report on Tuesday, June 17. Sims also told WFAA that although Lee's health will prevent her from leading the Walk for Freedom, she still plans to participate. "It is our plan to have Miss Opal in a safe situation as possible, but still able to enjoy the walk that she had the vision for. So, she may be present and she may not," Sims said in a statement to WFAA. "But right now, we're planning on not. But if she is, she'll be in a vehicle." Lee's family added that, if for any reason she cannot be present, the retired teacher will attend virtually. Lee previously expressed gratitude for the support she received after being hospitalized. 'Although I am unable to return the many texts and calls I have received over the past few days, please know that each one is appreciated; I am truly grateful for your concern and good wishes,' Lee wrote in a June 1 Facebook post. Sims, who serves as the president and founder of Unity Unlimited Incorporated, will now lead the 2.5-mile walk in her grandmother's place. The event will begin at 9 a.m. local time at Farrington Field in the Cultural District. Sims is also a member of the National Juneteenth Museum in Fort Worth, which Lee helped develop, per WFAA. 'The ability for us to impact, you know, not just Fort Worth, but the nation, with the story of Emancipation, wherever it happened. I think that's the beauty of the National Juneteenth Museum,' Sims previously told the news station in May. June 19, 1865, marks the day some of the last enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas, were told of their freedom, nearly two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. In 2021, then-President Joe Biden signed bipartisan legislation into law, making the date, known as Juneteenth, a federally recognized holiday. This year will be the 160th anniversary of Juneteenth. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘Grandmother of Juneteenth' Opal Lee Will Not Be in Annual Walk for Freedom After Recent Hospitalization
Opal Lee, also known as "The Grandmother of Juneteenth," will miss marching in this year's Walk of Freedom event The 98-year-old was recently hospitalized, which led to her first time sitting out the march since it launched in 2016 This year marks the 160th anniversary of JuneteenthOpal Lee, known to many as "The Grandmother of Juneteenth," will not participate in this year's Walk for Freedom march due to a recent hospitalization. Since the Fort Worth, Texas, event launched in 2016, Lee has never missed one. However, while traveling to receive the International Freedom Conductor Award at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Ohio in May, she was hospitalized, KDFW reported at the time. 'She's 98 and the family really wants to keep her in,' her granddaughter, Dione Sims, told the Fort Worth Report on Tuesday, June 17. Sims also told WFAA that although Lee's health will prevent her from leading the Walk for Freedom, she still plans to participate. "It is our plan to have Miss Opal in a safe situation as possible, but still able to enjoy the walk that she had the vision for. So, she may be present and she may not," Sims said in a statement to WFAA. "But right now, we're planning on not. But if she is, she'll be in a vehicle." Lee's family added that, if for any reason she cannot be present, the retired teacher will attend virtually. Lee previously expressed gratitude for the support she received after being hospitalized. 'Although I am unable to return the many texts and calls I have received over the past few days, please know that each one is appreciated; I am truly grateful for your concern and good wishes,' Lee wrote in a June 1 Facebook post. Sims, who serves as the president and founder of Unity Unlimited Incorporated, will now lead the 2.5-mile walk in her grandmother's place. The event will begin at 9 a.m. local time at Farrington Field in the Cultural District. Sims is also a member of the National Juneteenth Museum in Fort Worth, which Lee helped develop, per WFAA. 'The ability for us to impact, you know, not just Fort Worth, but the nation, with the story of Emancipation, wherever it happened. I think that's the beauty of the National Juneteenth Museum,' Sims previously told the news station in May. June 19, 1865, marks the day some of the last enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas, were told of their freedom, nearly two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. In 2021, then-President Joe Biden signed bipartisan legislation into law, making the date, known as Juneteenth, a federally recognized holiday. This year will be the 160th anniversary of Juneteenth. Read the original article on People
CBS News
19-06-2025
- General
- CBS News
Opal's Walk for Freedom looks to expand to all 50 states
Opal Lee's Walk for Freedom may soon stretch far beyond its traditional 2.5-mile route in Fort Worth. Lee's granddaughter, Dione Sims, is helping the 98-year-old "Grandmother of Juneteenth" expand the walk to cities across the country. A walk in all 50 states "What we're planning to do is to stand up one Opal's-branded, looks-like, feels-like Fort Worth Opal's Walk in all 50 states," Sims said. "One city in all 50 states." Sims said they would welcome more cities if possible. The goal is to launch the national effort in 2026, when Lee turns 100 and the United States celebrates its 250th birthday. "That imprint for the nation's birthday of celebrating freedom is what we're really shooting for," Sims said. "We're making an imprint on the national stage." Will Opal Lee appear at her walk? In the meantime, many are wondering whether Lee will appear at her 2025 walk. "I am leaving it to my family — my dad, my aunts, my cousins," Sims said. "And if she wants to get out, they told me that they would let her come and be there." Sims said the plan was never for her grandmother to walk this year. Lee may ride in an air-conditioned vehicle instead. She asked Sims to lead the walk in her place. "We're leading. We're walking," Sims said. "She said, 'You can do it. You got this.' I said, 'Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am.'" A legacy of freedom and unity Sims continues to focus on freedom — something she said Juneteenth represents for everyone, even though its roots are tied to enslaved people in Texas who did not know they were free. "Help people see that Juneteenth brings us all together," she said. "From there we can now talk and have real conversations about what's affecting our nation today — without blame, without shame — but real conversations." Passing the torch Sims said she remains a collaborator and executor of Lee's legacy, even as they discuss passing the baton. The mantle of freedom, she said, belongs to everyone.
CBS News
18-06-2025
- General
- CBS News
Opal Lee, "Grandmother of Juneteenth" will not lead Walk of Freedom this year
Opal Lee, the "Grandmother of Juneteenth," will not lead this year's Walk for Freedom in Fort Worth, her granddaughter said Tuesday night. Lee fought to get Juneteenth recognized as an official holiday. This is the first time she will not lead the walk. She was hospitalized in May for unknown reasons. Dione Sims, Lee's granddaughter, said she will carry on her grandmother's legacy this year. "I will lead the way, carrying on her legacy," Sims said in a statement to CBS News Texas. Lee's annual 2.5-mile walk acknowledges the two and a half years it took for news of freedom to reach those enslaved in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865. Over the decades, the celebrations that followed became known as Juneteenth. The annual walk stepped off for the first time in Dallas last year to big crowds and a festive atmosphere. This year's Walk for Freedom starts at 9 a.m. Thursday at Fort Worth's Farrington Field.
