'Grandmother of Juneteenth' honored with portrait in Texas Senate

For the first time in more than 40 years, a new portrait will hang in the Texas Senate as Opal Lee, a lifelong civil rights activist and prominent Juneteenth advocate, was honored this week with the unveiling of the chamber's newest painting.

State Sens. Royce West, D-Dallas, and Borris Miles, D-Houston, sponsored a resolution honoring Lee after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick suggested it two years ago, resulting in Lee's portrait presentation Wednesday on the Senate floor, which included heartfelt testimonies from several senators in front of a gallery full of spectators.

"Receiving your roses while you're alive, you are a living legend," Miles told Lee. "You're a living icon, Ms. Opal Lee, a living icon. Members, I am so proud to join you as we unveil the new portrait."

Lee is only the second Black person to be honored with a portrait in the Senate gallery. Barbara Jordan, the first Southern African American woman elected to the U.S. House and Texas' first Black state senator, was recognized in 1973.

Lee was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2022.

As Miles and West began the festivities, Patrick emphasized the rarity of adding to the Senate's art collection, which was last done roughly 43 years ago, he told the chamber.

"This is an historic day," Patrick said to much applause. "This does not happen often."

More:Opal Lee helped make Juneteenth a national holiday. At 95, she's still got work to do.

Known as the "grandmother of Juneteenth," Lee, 96, has spent decades pushing to have Juneteenth recognized as a federal holiday. That finally happened in 2021 when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act.

Juneteenth — also called Emancipation Day, Freedom Day or Jubilee Day — symbolizes the end of slavery, though it wasn't abolished until the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed in 1865.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger delivered news in Galveston that enslaved Black people had been freed by President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which he had issued two years earlier, ending slavery in Southern states.

"None of us are free until we're all free," Lee told USA TODAY last year. "Which means we have to keep working at getting rid of the disparities that are in our nation. ... We need help."

Texas became the first state to recognize Juneteenth as a holiday in 1980.

During her interview with USA TODAY, Lee remembered growing up in the East Texas city of Marshall, when Juneteenth celebrations felt like Christmas, featuring music, speeches, games and food.

When she was 12 and living in Fort Worth, a white mob burned down her family's home.

More:Biden signs Juneteenth into a holiday, officially giving federal employees the day off Friday

Representing Tarrant County, Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, offered an apology that Lee and her family had to endure the experience and that they hadn't been "welcomed how they should have been."

Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, found motivation in Lee's response to the tragedy, as she went on to begin a life of advocacy work.

"This portrait is going to remind us that even in the darkest moments of oppression, we can take that struggle and turn it into an opportunity for a bigger love," Eckhardt said. "You are teaching that to us every day."

Each senator signed on to author the resolution honoring Lee, which passed unanimously after the members gave remarks.

"So, on this special day, I am delighted to have a role in the unveiling of this beautiful portrait of a truly beautiful person whose portrait, name and story will be added to the illustrious history of the Lone Star State," West said. "Her portrait will from this day forward be on display on these most sacred walls of the Texas Senate for all eternity."

For freshman Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, seeing Lee in the Senate chamber reminded him of previous interactions with her decades earlier when he was a young Fort Worth police officer.

While serving on the mayoral detail in Fort Worth, King would frequent City Hall, often standing in the corner or along the walls during the many occasions when Lee would visit City Council meetings.

"You influenced me, and I just wanted to thank you for those small things," King said.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: 'Grandmother of Juneteenth' Opal Lee honored in Texas Senate