It Takes a Grandmother

I am fond of my book title for my first book, It Takes a Child to Raise a Parent. I receive affirmative grins and head shakes when I share this title with others. You likely helped to raise your parents in certain ways, but also have learned a thing or two from kids, either from your own or other’s children. Sometimes though, it takes a grandparent to raise consciousness about something important.

Juneteenth has been celebrated among African American families for 150+ years, yet many Americans are unaware of this aspect of our U.S. history. The history of people of color has not been covered as extensively in school textbooks as the history of Pilgrims claiming “freedom” on American soil.  

Some Americans only heard of Juneteenth when President Biden named June 19^th as Juneteenth National Independence Day in 2021. While the Senate unanimously approved a bill to set aside a national day of commemoration, sadly there was opposition from 14 members of the House of Representatives. We might guess the color of their ancestors’ skin.

While President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation to end slavery on January 1, 1863, folks living in Texas did not receive this news. It was not until 2 ½ years later on June 19, 1865, that General Gordon Granger went to Galveston, Texas, to deliver the freedom tidings. Such a deliverance was not recognized by many. African Americans were wary of their actual freedom. As Harriet Tubman expressed, “I had crossed the line. I was free; but there was no one to welcome me to the land of freedom. I was a stranger in a strange land.”  

It took the grit of a grandmother, Opal Lee, to rouse the rest of the country into awareness of this vital piece of our shared history. Lee grew up in Texas, but freedom of African American residents was far from accepted practice there. When her family lived in Fort Worth in a mostly white neighborhood, as a child she survived her home being burned to the ground by white individuals on June 19, 1939.

As a retired educator, Lee worked tirelessly to gather the signatures needed to appoint the national holiday for Juneteenth. As a spry 89-year-old, Lee embarked on 2 ½-mile walks from Fort Worth to the U.S. Capitol. She was 96 years young when she finally witnessed the signing of the historic Bill creating Juneteenth as a national holiday.

Perhaps some of us have forgotten (or never knew) the little song that I learned in Sunday School: “Jesus loves the little children, all the children in the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight….” For those who were not raised in this Sunday School tradition, go to any flower garden. Only some plants are white; most are colorful.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz 

301. What cause could interest you in walking across the country to gather support?  

302.  How can you foster “freedom” in your community?