Activist Opal Lee’s Quest To Make Juneteenth A Federal Holiday Harold Fisher September 23, 2020 at 12:11 pm in HUR@Home, Newsmakers Tweet We know the story… it took two and a half years after The Emancipation Proclamation for black slaves in Galveston, Texas to get word that slavery was over. We’re talking to social activist Opal Lee. She is 93 years old and shows no signs of slowing down in her quest to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. Tags: Activist Opal Lee's Quest To Make Juneteenth A Federal Holiday, Federal Holiday, juneteenth, Opal Lee, race relations, State Holiday