The ‘Grandmother of Juneteenth’ Taps FanGirl for Representation

The non-profit Unity Unlimited and 94-year-old social impact leader, Ms. Opal Lee, have selected FanGirl Consulting and Brand Management to develop brand strategies for the following areas: consumer products licensing, brand partnerships and sponsorship activations.

Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day and celebrated on June 19, is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. The day of commemoration marks the declaration of General Order No. 3, which enforced Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, almost two and a half years after the official proclamation was made.

Ms. Opal Lee has made it her life’s mission to bring awareness to the effort to raise Juneteenth to an officially recognized national holiday. In 2016 at 90 years old, she launched the campaign Opal’s Walk 2 DC walking 2.5 miles to symbolize the 2.5 years that it took for the enslaved in Texas to know they were freed. Ms. Opal continues to walk the 2.5 miles when invited to cities across the nation, as well as during the annual Juneteenth FTW celebration in Fort Worth, Texas, raising awareness and gathering signatures for the petition to make Juneteenth a National Day of Observance.

“Juneteenth is a unifier,” says Dione Sims, executive director, Unity Unlimited. “We are proud to support all Ms. Lee’s efforts to make Fort Worth, the nation and the world better by amplifying her message that ‘We can do so much more together than apart.’”

The team at FanGirl Consulting will seek licensees in publishing, consumables, apparel and other categories, as well as corporate/brand alliances to promote Ms. Opal’s work.