ms. opal, you're incredible. a daughter of texas.randmother of the movement to make juneteenth a federal holiday. and ms. opal is, you won't believe it, she's 49 years old. [laughter] or 94 years old. you are an incredible woman, ms. opal, you really are. as a child growing up in texas, she and her family would celebrate juneteenth. and juneteenth 1939, when she was 12 years old, a white mob torched her family home. but such hate never stopped her, any more than it stopped the vast majority of you i'm looking at from this podium. over the course of decades, she's made it her mission to see that this day came. it was almost a singular mission. she's walked for miles and miles, literally and figuratively, to bring attention to juneteenth. to make this day possible. i ask once again, we all stand and give her a warm welcome. [applause] as they still say in the senate and as i said for 36 years in the senate, excuse me for a point of personal privilege. as i was walking down, i regret that my grandchildren aren't here, because this is a

, ms. opal, her name is now opal lee, she basically decided she was going to go for broke, that she had been doing this work her whole life, she had a special reason for this to mean something very important to her, to turn it into something positive, in her life. but she decided she would go big. she had written a letter to president obama, essentially sort of wording him in the nicest possible way that she was going to come to washington at some point and the point of her trip would be that this texas holiday, juneteenth should be celebrated all over the country, it should be a national holiday marking the end of slavery, not just a texas holiday. she thought we should actually celebrate as a country from june the 19th all the way to july the 4th for independence day. same way we celebrate mardi gras for a big chunk of february, she was saying let's celebrate liberation and independence as a whole country together, for the whole end of june to the first week in july, juneteenth, in july 4th, l

including the one and only ms. opal lee. [applause] who just received a very special recognition from the president of the united states. and i see members of congress, members of the congressional black caucus, members of the united states senate who passed this bill unanimously. [applause] and all of whom, collectively, were responsible for delivering this bill to the president's desk. and i thank you all. we thank you all. your nation thanks you all. and you know, when we establish national holidays, it makes an important statement. national holidays are something important. these are days when we as a nation have decide to stop and take stock and often to acknowledge our history. and so as we establish juneteenth as our newest national holiday, let's be clear about what happened on june 19, 1865. the day we call juneteenth. because you see, that tai was not the end of slavery in america. yes, on that day, the enslaved people of galveston, texas, learned that they were free. but in fact, 2 1/2 years earlier, the emancipat

ms. opal, your incredible. a daughter of texas, grandmother of a movement to make juneteenth a federal holiday. you are an incredible movement, miss opal . she made it a mission that this day came. it was almost a singular mission. she has walked for miles and miles, literally and figuratively, to bring attention to juneteenth, to make this day possible. i ask, once again, we all stand and give her a warm welcome. >> [ applause ] >> 94 years old . a remarkable acknowledgment of the work of ms. opal lee today at the white house. you think about the two sides of this in her life. 12 years old, juneteenth, 1939, her family is burned out of their home in texas. that's by a white mob. is never anybody held accountable, never anybody arrested. she lived her life celebrating the juneteenth holiday in texas, helping texans recognize it, and they do in that state . she discards the country needs to celebrate the holiday not because of what was decided to be done wrong to her. anytime somebody interviews her about the cru

we're blessed to mark the day in the presence of ms. opal lee. [ applause ] >> i had the honor of meeting her in nevada more than a year ago. she told me she loved me, and i believed it. i wanted to believe it. opal, you're incredible. a daughter of texas. grandmother of the movement to make juneteenth a federal holiday. ms. opal, you won't believe it, she's 49 years old. or 94 years old. you are an incredible woman. you really are. as a child growing up in texas, she and her family would celebrate juneteenth. juneteenth, 1939 when she was 12 years old, a white mob torched her family home. but such hate never stopped her anymore than it stopped the vast majority of you that i'm looking at from this podium. over the course of decades, she's made it her mission to see that this day came. it was almost a singular mission. she's walked for miles and miles literally and figuratively to bring attention to juneteenth. to make this day possible. i ask once again that we all stand and give her a warm welcome to the white house. [ applause ] as they still

and as with so many things black women made this happen whether ms. opal lee a 94 or sheila jackson lee my colleague in texas who introduced this bill and it was a day of history. i think president biden said it right. it would be one of the greatest honors of his presidency creating this holiday. >> i think sheila jackson lee said to me once this was like 12 years in the making. it's been a long time she has been fighting to get this done. let's listen to president biden just before signing the bill. >> juneteenth marks both a long, hard night of slavery and sub y jugation and a promise of a brighter morning to come. this is in my view a day of profound weight and profound power. a day in which to remember the moral stain that the terrible toll that slavery took on the country and continues to take. what i've long called america's original sin. at the same time, i also remember the extraordinary capacity to heal and to hope and to emerge from those painful moments iand a bitter version o ourselves to make a better version of ourselves. >> 14 of your repub

that being said, there are also -- to return to what ms. opal said, there's something critical also to understand. mark twain said history does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme or often rhymes. truthfully, one of the reasons that the enslaved in texas were kept in bondage for two and a half years beyond the point that any other enslaved individuals in what was then the united states is not simply that texas was far, far away and information hard to come by, that most enslaved people were, in fact, unable to read and write by order of law. there were also a group of people, confederates, who not only did not recognize the legitimacy of the united states and considered themselves a breakaway nation but do not recognize that the war was over and the war was lost and signed onto an alternative reality and then used brute force to make that the reality for those who would disagree with them. we very much have a similar situation today. >> yeah. i'm glad you put it that way. i didn't want to put too fine a point on it, but that's part of the issue

you mentioned ms. opal. she's been marching for years trying to raise awareness of juneteenth. there is no nact or major civil rights organization, no black leader, no churches behind this. joe biden woke up one morning and told america, this was the right thing to do. and again, i'm sure there was some lobbying of him but i am on the committee in san francisco on reparation and congresswoman barbara lee of course knows way more about the ground gain in d.c. that led to this. i don't want to discount that. i'm suggesting that most people woke up with a surprise that the president signed this bill. >> that's very interesting, professor. we'll get you to just a moment. let's bring in congresswoman barbara lee. thanks for staying up late with us. 10:00 eastern time. you've been in the white house many times over the years. what was it like today and why was it so different? >> this was exciting. and it was uplifting. it really was a very somber, in many respects, bill signing, because i'm thinking this is long overdue first of all. and to be there with opal lee and to be there wit

>> you are an incredible woman, ms. opal, you really are. >> reporter: opal lee had a front row seat to history today as president biden said signing the bipartisan bill would go down as one to have the greatest honors of his presidency. >> by making juneteenth a federal holiday, all americans can feel the power of this day and learn from our history and celebrate progress and grapple with the distance we've come, but the distance we have to travel, jim. >> reporter: june 19th is on saturday, so the federal government is treating tomorrow, friday, as a holiday, instead, and giving many federal workers the day off -- though we just heard from the postal service, norah, that it can't implement those changes so quickly and cease operations friday and saturday, so post offices will remain open this year. >> o'donnell: opal lee proving you can make a difference even in your '90s. nancy cordes, thank you. well, the president returned from his summit with vladimir putin to face a new reality at home. most of his domestic initiative

john cleburne, representative barbara lee, representative danny davis, and sheila jackson lee and ms. opal. you should have my chair. all right. [ applause ] there you go. >> thank you, mr. president. [ applause ] >> all right . >> is election day next? mr. president, is election day next? is the plan to sign election day as a national holiday? >> thank you, everybody. thank you. thank you. thank you. [ applause ] >> welcome to "the lead." i'm pamela brown in for jake tapper. you have been watching president joe biden at the white house signing a bill that makes juneteenth a federal holiday. this is the first new federal holiday in nearly 40 years. it commemorates the end of slavery in the u.s. since juneteenth this year is on a saturday, tomorrow is the new holiday. let's bring in phil mattingly. he used this as an opportunity to bring us his key priorities like voting rights. >> yeah. like voting rights and just equity generally. that sounds like a broad concept out of hand but when you talk to administration officials and you pay close attention, pamela, to their policy agenda not just

things unfolded in the congress this week, not because i don't think that the actions and the work of ms. opal lee and sheila jackson lee are not heroic and important, not because i don't believe that it's worth us commemorating the day. but it comes amid several things. you identified two. one is that we have been waiting on voting legislation that will address the voter suppression that is happening targeted at black voters in states around the country. we are waiting on the george floyd justice in policing act. a year ago millions of americans were on the street, millions of people around the world demanding change, the core of that change being accountability for police officers who engage in this kind of misconduct, and we still have no bill george floyd justice in policing act. at the same time that we're commemorating juneteenth, states across the country are banning teachers be from being able to teach the truth about racism and the history of racism or any engagement with race that might make students feel unfortunately or guilty on account of race or sex. so there's a concerted effor

. >> we're blessed to mark the day of ms. opal lee. as my mother would say, god love her. ago. she told me she loved me, and i believed it. i want to believe it. you're incredible. a daughter of texas. grandmother of the movement to make junteenth a federal holiday. junteenth 1939, when she was 12 years old, a white mob torched her family home, but such hate never stopped her anymore than it stopped the vast majority of you i'm looking at from this podium. over the course of decades she's made it her mission to see that this day came. it was almost a sipping lar mission. she's walked for miles and miles, literally and figuratively to bring attention to junteenth, to make this day possible. i ask once again we all stand again and give her a warm welcome. >> afterward, congresswoman sheila jackson lee of texas sent this tweet. with opal lea and president biden after signing the historic juneteenth federal holiday. she joins me now. what do you want people to reflect on during their time off for this brand new holiday? >> well, i think it's very important for us to find an op

ms. opal you're incredible. a daughter of texas.again we all stand and give her a warm welcome to the white house. [ applause ] >> this was the work of many, but juneteenth as a national holiday may never have happened without miss opal lee. president biden knows it. that's why he is so warmly received the 94-year-old activist today. the grandmother of this movement. for years, opal lee crusaded to make juneteenth a federal holiday. she went all over the country at various celebrations. then in 2016 at the age of 89, she began a 1400-mile trek from her home in ft. worth, texas to d.c. to bring attention to the cause, stopping at all the different places that celebrate juneteenth on a state by state basis along the way. since she walked a symbolic 2.5 miles every year on juneteenth to commemorate the 2 1/2 years it took for enslaved african americans in galveston, texas to learn of their freedom, it started to spread. lee is a descendent of american slaves, a victim of a hate crime when she was just 12. a mob of 500 white supremacist

we're blessed to mark the day and the president, ms opal lee because my mother said, god yeah.e honor of meeting her in nevada more than a year ago, she told me she loved me, and i believed it. i want to believe it. was over your incredible a daughter of texas, grandmother of the movement to make juneteenth a federal holiday miserable is you won't believe it. she's 49 years old. 94 years old by you are incredible woman is hopeful you really are as a child growing up in texas. she and her family, uh, would celebrate juneteenth. juneteenth 1939 when she was 12 years old but such hate. never stopped her anymore, and to stop the vast part majority. you i'm looking at from this podium, you. over the course of decades. she's made it her mission to see that this day came was almost a singular mission. she's walked from miles and miles, literally in figuratively. to bring attention to juneteenth. to make this day possible. i asked once again, we all stand and give her a warm. welcome to the world. hmm. because they're still saying the senate and i said for 36 years. excuse. as ig down.

but when this happens, i will be thinking of ms. opal lee, of her long walk to washington, d.c., and the joy in her voice when she heard the news that the senate had taken one more step towards her dream of juneteenth. may we all draw inspiration and strength from her example. i'm proud to walk this path with you, ms. lee, and with all of you. let's keep this going. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mrs. capito: thank you, mr. president. i rise today to oppose the nomination of radhika fox to be assistant administrator for water at the e.p.a. i certainly appreciate her willingness to serve. and i have found her to be quite personable and friendly. so this is not a personal statement. but even though she is not yet confirmed, she's already in place as the lead political appointee in the water office at e.p.a. in that capacity, her recent announcement of overreaching regulatory proposals under the clean water act cemented my opposition to her nomina

but look, we've got to say, yesterday was quite a moment for ms. opal lee who for years led walking campaigns and marches across the country to raise awareness about juneteenth, and she said she was thinking that surely somebody would see a little old lady in tennis shoes trying to get congress and take notice, and take notice is precisely what happened, craig. >> looks like it worked, geoff bennett from the white house for us, thank you. >>> never underestimate a little old lady in tennis shoes to make the world go round i love that. let's go back to dylan, get the rest of the national weather picture, hi dilly. >> hey, good morning, everyone, we do have the threat of tropical downpours making their way onshore along the gulf coast. a threat of severe storms today through the great lakes region, through indiana, through ohio as we go into this afternoon and evening as a cold front moves through, and of course the heat and the dry weather and the sunshine continue out west with more record likely to be broken today. that's a look at the weather across t

. >> you are incredible woman, ms. opal. you really are. a white mob torched her family home. but such hate never stopped her. >> joining us now, we've got professor at harvard university, pulitzer prize winning author, her acclaimed book is titled "on juneteenth." when we had you on before you told us you had a little problem people outside of texas celebrating this holiday and i'm thinking this morning in the words of my grandmother, grandmother jewel, this must take the rag off the churn. this has to really, really be something for you, a national holiday. would you have even believed this when you started writing this book? >> no, i wouldn't have believed it. i have to say, joe, i said when i was younger, i felt a little about people celebrating, but i'm totally happy about it now. i didn't anticipate the quickness of everything that happened this week. certainly. >> yeah. so, talk about it. talk about what it means to you. talk about what it means to this country. >> well, juneteenth is tailored made. i love it because i'm a historian.

opal lee. here's how ms. lee reacted to congress passing the bill. >> the bill is passed! >> woohoo! oh oh oh ooh! >> stephen: i'm calling it now: that is the song of the summer. ( laughter ) ( applause ) the bill got unanimous support in the senate, but in the house there were 14 no votes from republican members of congress. ( booing ) i wonder if those representatives have anything in common. ah, yes -- it's the spf 700 club. these congressmen had a number of objections to the bill, ranging from stupid to dumb. like kentucky representative thomas massie, seen here explaining that his gun is that size because it's cold out. ( laughter ) >> jon: it's an analogy, see... >> stephen: massey swears he supports juneteenth, but takes issue with the holiday's full name juneteenth national independence day. why? because he says it will conflict with july 4th, and push americans to pick one of those two days as their independence day based on their racial identity. let's be real. americans may have their differences, but we hold these truth to be self-evident: we take every opportunity to eat

what's interesting to me is they talked about miss opal lee and all the work she did to create a juneteenth holiday. what's equally important is whether or not ms. lee will be able to vote in her next election in texas because of what's going on with voting rights. >> you write in your other column, you wrote that with every reactionary bill against critical race theory, and i'm switching gears here because we've got these bills against voting rights, but we've also got numerous bills across america against critical race theory. with every reactionary bill, conservative lawmakers denounce the nation's unvarnished history for the curates propaganda of white supremacy. weaponized fear and good eveningance are pillars of white supremacy. that's why a majority of republicans still embrace the big lie about the 2020 election. and it is important to note history in this particular instance, because there was a history about the civil war, there was a romanticized history about the defeat of the south which took root at the very moment that southern white americans should have been thinking about the fact that, hey, we were on the wrong side of this,