Chris Brockel
Northside Planning Council

While Dr. Opal Lee, the grandmother of  Juneteenth being recognized as a national holiday came to Madison Feb. 23 to speak at the Madison Black Gala, she  made an extra stop to visit FEED Kitchens with her local ambassador team.

“I couldn’t come to Madison, without visiting FEED Kitchens to learn about community kitchens and food incubation so I can bring ideas back to my neighborhood in Fort Worth, Texas,” said Dr. Lee.  “I started a food pantry and Opal’s Farm, which is a vegetable farm to stock the food pantry with healthy options and provide job training. The ideas I gleaned here will help us to use food as a community development tool for our community.”

Dr. Lee is a Nobel Peace Prize Nominated Human Rights Advocate.  After decades of work to get the Juneteenth holiday recognized, including walking from Dallas to Washington, D.C., at age 94, Dr. Lee was present to witness President Biden sign the official act making Juneteenth a national holiday.

As a child,  Dr. Lee experienced the violent trauma of racism as a mob of people destroyed her family home for having the audacity to buy a house in the wrong neighborhood. Under threat of further violence, her family fled the neighborhood under cover of night. Lee also has family roots in Tulsa, Okla. where they were part of building Black Wall Street. Those family members survived the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and went on to help rebuild what was destroyed.

FEED Kitchens will continue to be a resource for Dr. Lee as she continues her food system work in Fort Worth, Texas.