Don Lemon Cracks Up When 95-Year-Old ‘Grandmother of Juneteenth’ Scolds Him When He Tries to Wrap Interview
Opal Lee, the 95-year-old woman credited as an integral part of helping get Juneteenth honored as a national holiday, is a force to be reckoned with, as CNN’s Don Lemon learned when he tried to wrap up his interview with her and she scolded him so she could share information about marches planned for Sunday evening across the country.
In 2016, Lee — at that time 89 years young — began a walking tour through dozens of American cities, starting with her home in Fort Worth, Texas and eventually making it to Washington, D.C., to advocate for the federal government to recognize June 19, 1865 (“Juneteenth”), the date that the news of President Abraham Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation finally reached the slaves in Galveston, Texas.
Lee told reporters that her hope was “someone would notice a little old lady in tennis shoes” as she traveled 2.5 miles each day, in recognition of the two-and-a-half years it took the news to arrive after the Emancipation Proclamation’s effective date of Jan. 1, 1863.
President Joe Biden signed a bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday last year, and Lee was invited to the White House to witness the signing.
As a lead up to the network’s Juneteenth musical celebration, CNN’s Don Lemon interviewed Lee about Juneteenth and what it meant to her to finally see her years of hard work pay off.
“Miss Opal Lee,” said Lemon. “Thank you for being here. Happy Juneteenth. How does it feel to celebrate this holiday?”
“I’m still pinching myself it really happened,” she replied, calling it “mind-boggling” that it was finally a holiday.
The two spoke for several minutes about the history behind the holiday and her advocacy efforts, along with the millions of Americans who supported her work.
Lemon made no secret of his admiration for the nonagenarian, calling her “amazing” and telling her he was “honored” to interview her. The CNN host was in the process of thanking Lee for her work and the interview, clearly sounding like he was wrapping the segment — “Thank you Miss Opal Lee…you are a sight to see and a wonder to behold” — when she cut him off.
“Do you think this interview is over?” Lee interjected as Lemon grinned and broke into laughter. “Because I got some more stuff to tell you! Listen! Listen, listen, listen!”
Lemon leaned back, cracking up, putting up no fight as Lee went on to share how she would be part of a commemorative Juneteenth walk in Fort Worth at 10 pm, and there would be one in California at 8 pm there, and Philadelphia at 11 pm on the East Coast.
“It will be shown all over the world and you ought to be part of it,” Lee told Lemon.
“I’m so glad we had this time together,” said Lemon, adding that he hoped he would get to spend more time with her and walk with her in person soon.
“Happy Juneteenth,” he said to her. “And the same to you,” she replied.
Watch the video above, via CNN.
