TEXAS — Opal Lee, the grandmother of Juneteenth and a fierce advocate for the preservation of Black history, has received another honor with her very own Barbie doll.
Mattel released the doll on Thursday as part of the company’s Barbie Inspiring Women series, which began in 2018 to commemorate “real-life heroes who’ve shaped history,” according to the company’s website. Lee joins trailblazers like Maya Angelou, Isabel Allende, Dr. Jane Goodall and more who have their own dolls in the line.
The Opal Lee doll is an homage to Lee’s work in helping make Juneteenth a federal holiday. It features the doll wearing a purple Walk for Freedom t-shirt and marching with a crowd behind her. It’s available on Mattel’s website for $38.
“Barbie recognizes all female role models. The Inspiring Women series pays tribute to incredible heroines of their time; courageous women who took risks, changed rules, and paved the way for generations of girls to dream bigger than ever before,” the product description says.
Lee had previously served as a teacher and counselor in her home state of Texas before retiring in 1977. When she was 89, her activism led to her organize a 1,400-mile walk from her home in Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C., in 2016 in an effort to bring national attention to Juneteenth. Lee symbolically walked in 2.5 mile increments for the two and a half years it took for news of the Emancipation Proclamation to reach enslaved people in Galveston, Texas.
When she was a child, Lee recalls Juneteenth being more of a private celebration among families. During one of those celebrations in 1939, a mob of 500 people burned down her family’s home, according to the National Women’s History Museum. The traumatic attack left Lee with a deep attachment to June 19.
In June 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act and Juneteenth became a nationally-recognized holiday. Lee was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2024.