Life is coming full circle for 97 year old “Grandmother of Juneteenth” Opal Lee this week with a ceremony for the building of a new home for her at 940 East Annie Street in Fort Worth. What’s special about this property is that it is where her family’s home used to be before being burned to the ground by a racist mob.
It happened almost 85 years ago on June 19, 1939, spurring Lee to work diligently for decades to get the date solidified as a national holiday to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. She reached that goal in 2021, setting aside June 19 each year for all to reflect upon history and celebrate victories.
Read much more about Lee’s beginnings in Marshall, Texas, and her life’s work in the County Line ARCHIVES.
This Thursday, March 21 is an official wall-raising ceremony for her new home made possible by Texas Capital, Trinity Habitat for Humanity, and HistoryMaker Homes.
After Lee watched her family home burn to the ground in 1939, she never lost hope of someday owning the property. Somewhere along the way, the property fell into the hands of Trinity Habitat for Humanity and when Lee inquired about purchasing the lot from them they generously gave it to her for $10.
Texas Capital learned of the need to build Lee a new home and reached out to HistoryMaker Homes, its longtime residential homebuilding partner, to propose involvement in this historic project. To Lee’s excitement, HistoryMaker Homes generously offered to build the home at no cost to her. Recently, Lee visited their design center where she selected all of the flooring, fixtures, and lighting for her planned home.
Texas Capital Foundation is providing funding for furnishings for the home, and both Texas Capital and HistoryMaker Homes employees will volunteer at the wall-raising. Jon Larson, Texas Capital’s Head of Homebuilder and Community Finance; Nelson Mitchell, CEO of HistoryMaker Homes; and Gage Yager, CEO of Trinity Habitat for Humanity will give remarks at the ceremony.
No ribbon cutting is taking place, instead organizers will cut a 2×6 wood stud with a miter saw. Following the board cutting presentation staff and volunteers will raise the walls on Lee’s new home.
All are welcome to attend the celebration starting at 8 a.m., Thursday, March 21, at 940 E. Annie Street in Fort Worth.
