Juneteenth Museums unveils first look preview during Opal Lee’s birthday celebration

Opal Lee’s home is decorated with accomplishments, from proclamations, keys to the city and pictures of her with President Joe Biden and former president Barack Obama.

Friday was Lee’s special day as the National Juneteenth Museum hosted a livestream birthday celebration in her honor and premiered a video of the upcoming museum.

Lee, who turns 97 on Saturday, said her life has had a few rough spots but what keeps her going and positive is the ability to give back.

“You solve a problem but then there’s another problem that needs to be solved,” Lee said. “So it keeps you alert, it keeps you on your toes.”

The birthday livestream event was co-hosted by Keith Soli, music director and host of “The Smooth Ride Home” and “Gospel Sunday,” on Smooth R&B 105.7-FM.

The event featured multiple people praising Lee, with special guest appearances that included former professional boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, actor Kendrick Sampson from “Insecure,” and former “Bachelorette” contestant Mike Johnson.

The other big attraction was a four-minute video previewing the National Juneteenth Museum. Lee is known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth” for her efforts to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.

Lee helped rally over 1 million signatures in support of Juneteenth as a holiday, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and helped raise over $30 million to build the museum in the Historic Southside.

Jarred Howard, CEO of the National Juneteenth Museum, said the museum’s national profile will increase tourism.

He also thinks it will spark the revitalization of the Historic Southside, which is rich in history and culture, and which he believes deserves the type of attention that the museum will bring to it.

Howard wants people to learn more about the Juneteenth museum and help by donating to it because this is Lee’s legacy project.

“It is her vision, her goal, her desire to see it before the Lord calls her home,” Howard said. “And as a result of that, it was our gift to her to release this on her birthday, because the video literally narrates the story in a way that few other things can. There are both visual assets and audio assets that lend credence to the story. And quite frankly, they raised a profile of the objective of the work, not just the work itself.”

The National Museum is slated to open to the public on June 19, 2025. To donate, visit nationaljuneteenthmuseum.org and click on donate.