The National Juneteenth Museum gave Opal Lee an early birthday gift — new renderings for the museum that she has long championed.

Lee, also known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth” will officially celebrate her 98th birthday on Monday, Oct. 7, after a weekend filled with family meals, penny poker and church.

From witnessing President Joe Biden declare Juneteenth a national holiday, to being named a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize and moving into a new home on the same street where her childhood home was set ablaze by a white mob, Lee has celebrated several milestones over the past few years.

“We can’t rest on our laurels,” Lee, who already has big plans for 2026, said. 

In two years, she will turn 100, lead another march between Fort Worth and Washington D.C., and — if all goes according to plan — celebrate the grand opening of the National Juneteenth Museum.

“(The museum) means that people all over have come together to make the nation aware of our oneness,” Lee said. “It’s not just a Texas thing. It’s not just a Black thing. It’s for everyone.”

Beneath each peak of the gold-gabled roof, a front porch will welcome the community into the facility that will house a food hall, theater space, exhibition halls and star-shaped courtyard. 

The museum will tell the story of Juneteenth, and the Civil Rights Movement that followed, through artifacts and interactive elements. 

In one gallery, visitors will see a uniform and rifle used by U.S. Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, who rode to Galveston in 1865 to inform enslaved people of their freedom roughly two and a half years after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

Another gallery will focus on community landmarks and stories from the 1920s or 1930s that guests can listen to by picking up a corded phone.

“Fort Worth is home to several world-class museums. We’re going to be the latest addition to that, and we’re really excited about it,” museum CEO Jarred Howard said.

The nonprofit has $36 million raised and is over halfway to its $70 million goal to start building.

“We want to get it built to go quickly for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is we’ve got a 98-year-old champion that wants to see it and experience it,” he said.

Lee hopes that the museum will spur economic development in the Historic Southside neighborhood and will be an inspiration to its residents and especially the youth.

“I just want young people to understand that if they find something that they are passionate about that is going to help them, their family, their community, their city, their state, the nation, they shouldn’t give up,” Lee said. “There are going to be all kinds of people who will tell you it’s crazy. But if you decide that is what needs to be done, then you can’t let up. You can’t let anything stop you.”

Marcheta Fornoff covers arts and culture for the Fort Worth Report. Reach her at marcheta.fornoff@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.