Earlier this year, Fold Studios was given the great pleasure of filming Opal Lee’s address as she accepted the Spirit Alive Award from Carnegie Hall’s Juneteenth Celebration. Since then, Opal Lee has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
It is a special moment when you are tasked to film and are able to sit with a civil rights leader.
We were honored to film Opal Lee as she accepted the Spirit Alive Award from the Juneteenth Celebration at Carnegie Hall. Opal is known as "The Grandmother of Juneteenth" and was instrumental in its recognition as a federal holiday after she walked from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington, D.C. at 89 years old.
Today, at 95, she continues her "Walk for Freedom" each year with a 2.5 mile walk representing the 2.5 years it took for enslaved people in Texas to learn of their freedom after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Thank you to Ms. Lee for hosting us in your home and for sharing your experience with us.