Nationwide — Mattel has launched a brand new Barbie doll honoring Opal Lee, the activist who helped make Juneteenth a federal vacation. The doll celebrates her lifelong combat for freedom and equality, aiming to encourage kids to consider in their very own energy to create change.
Opal Lee, who’s now 99 years previous, is called the “grandmother” of Juneteenth for her tireless advocacy. She spent a long time elevating consciousness in regards to the vacation, which marks when enslaved African People in Galveston, Texas, realized they have been free in 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
At 89 years previous, Lee walked from Fort Value, Texas, to Washington, D.C., to carry nationwide consideration to Juneteenth. Her efforts helped push Congress to formally acknowledge June 19 as a federal vacation in 2021.
The Barbie doll displays Lee’s dedication to vary. It wears glasses, a blue “Unity Limitless Opal’s Stroll for Freedom” T-shirt, white pants, and sneakers, symbolizing her historic stroll.
“It has been a pleasure to companion with Barbie on my Inspiring Girls doll,” Lee stated in an announcement, based on ABC Information. “I hope my story encourages the subsequent era to by no means underestimate the facility of 1 voice. As I usually say, one particular person can begin a change, and that may change the world.”
Mattel praised Lee’s affect, with Vice President Nathan Baynard noting the doll demonstrates “the facility of objective in motion.”
The doll is a part of Mattel’s Inspiring Girls sequence, which additionally honors different influential figures like Rosa Parks, Venus Williams, and Sally Journey.
