DALLAS — Opal Lee, best known for her campaign to establish Juneteenth as a national holiday, will receive an honorary doctorate from SMU.
The “Grandmother of Juneteenth” successfully lobbied to establish Juneteenth, June 19, as a national holiday. Now, at 97, she will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from SMU. The degree will be presented at the University’s May 11 commencement ceremony.
SMU will also host a symposium focused on Lee’s achievements. Lee will participate alongside her granddaughter Dione Sims, founding executive director of the National Juneteenth Museum. The symposium is free with reservations.
“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. “Her life’s work is most deserving of this recognition, and she will inspire our students.”
In 2016, Lee walked from Fort Worth to Washington D.C., successfully pushing lawmakers to designate Juneteenth as a national holiday. A planned National Juneteenth Museum in Fort Worth’s South Side aims to preserve the history of Juneteenth and serve as a business incubator.
Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery after the Civil War, recognizing the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas two years after it was issued.
Lee is honorary chair of the planned National Juneteenth Museum, is a board member of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation and was a 2022 Nobel Peace Prize nominee. This will be her eighth honorary degree.
The commencement ceremony will be streamed live here.
