杰米·斯滕格尔，德克萨斯州沃斯堡——周三，奥帕尔·李庆祝了自己的100岁生日，同时为位于她德克萨斯州家乡的博物馆奠基。该博物馆旨在讲述“六月十九日”（Juneteenth）的历史，这一节日纪念着美国奴隶制的终结。
JAMIE STENGLE FORT WORTH, Texas — Opal Lee celebrated her 100th birthday Wednesday by kicking off the start of construction of a museum in her Texas hometown dedicated to telling the history of Juneteenth , the holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S.
即将在沃斯堡落成的国家六月十九日博物馆的首席执行官贾雷德·霍华德表示：“选择在这一天举行活动对我们来说意义重大，因为过去几年我们所做的一切，以及我们持续努力的方向，都是围绕着尊贵的奥帕尔·李女士的精神展开的。”
“It was important for us to do this on this date because everything we’ve done for the last several years, everything we continue to do, is built around the spirit of the venerable Miss Opal Lee,” said Jarred Howard, CEO of the upcoming National Juneteenth Museum in Fort Worth.
作为该博物馆创始董事会成员的李女士，因多年来致力于推动6月19日获得联邦官方认可而被称为“六月十九日之母”。2021年，时任总统乔·拜登签署法案，将六月十九日定为联邦法定假日时，李女士就站在他的身旁。
Lee, founding board member of the museum, became known as the “grandmother of Juneteenth” after spending years rallying to get federal recognition for June 19. When then-President Joe Biden in 2021 signed a bill into law making Juneteenth a federal holiday, Lee was by his side.
这一节日纪念的是1865年联邦军队抵达加尔维斯顿的日子，当时南北战争刚刚结束，他们带来了宣布德克萨斯州被奴役人民获得自由的命令。这一事件发生在《解放黑人奴隶宣言》发布约两年半之后，该宣言当时解放了南方联盟那些仍处于叛乱状态的州中的被奴役者。六个月后，第十三条修正案的批准永久终结了美国的奴隶制度。
The holiday marks the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston at the end of the Civil War with an order declaring the freedom of the enslaved people in Texas. It was about 2 1/2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation freed the enslaved people in the still rebellious states of the Confederacy. Six months later, the ratification of the 13th Amendment permanently ended slavery in the United States.
在周三的活动中，李女士表达了自己的喜悦与感激。当天，施工团队开始拆除一栋建筑，为这座计划占地5万平方英尺（4600平方米）的博物馆项目腾出空间，而项目所在地是一个历史悠久的黑人社区。
Lee expressed her happiness and gratefulness at the Wednesday event, where a crew began demolishing a building to clear the way for the construction of the planned 50,000-square-foot (4,600-square-meter) project in a historically Black neighborhood.
活动上还宣布，耶稣基督后期圣徒教会将捐赠300万美元，用于博物馆的建设以及馆内谱系中心的设立。
The event included an announcement that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would be donating $3 million toward the museum’s construction and the creation of a genealogy center in it.
李女士在公告发表后表示：“我高兴得想跳一支神圣的舞蹈，但我的老腿却不听使唤了。不过，请相信，我有多么感激，这份善举也绝不会被忽视。”
“I’m so happy I could do a holy dance, and these old legs won’t respond, but let me tell you how thankful I am and that this deed won’t go unnoticed,” said Lee, who spoke after the announcement.
李女士一直是沃斯堡的重要人物，她曾在此担任教师、顾问和社区活动家长达数十年。
Lee has been a force in Fort Worth, where she worked for decades as a teacher, counselor and community activist.
李表示，她一直珍视童年时庆祝“六月十九日”的记忆——那时充满了美食、音乐和游戏；成年后，她也参与了在沃斯堡举行的庆祝活动策划工作。
Lee has said she has cherished childhood memories of celebrating Juneteenth with food, music and games, and as an adult, she was involved in planning the celebration in Fort Worth.
美国地方法官雷妮·H·托利弗在活动中说道：“在历史徒步、摄影、书籍以及应有的全国赞誉出现很久以前，我的童年回忆中，就充满了你确保沃斯堡铭记这段历史的努力。”
“Long before there were historic walks, cameras, books and well-deserved national acclaim, my childhood memories are filled with you making sure that Fort Worth remembered,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee H. Toliver said at the event.
她对坐在观众席中的李说，她还记得李曾策划社区活动、游行和节日庆典。
She told Lee, who was sitting in the crowd, that she remembered her planning community events, parades and festivals.
托利弗说：“你总是提醒我们，历史不是被抛在身后的东西，而是需要我们去积极守护的。”
“You always reminded us that history is not something you leave behind, it’s something you actively protect,” Toliver said.
这座博物馆未来的选址距离李几年前建成的家并不远。那座房子位于同一片绿树成荫的街角地块上，而李年幼时，她的家人曾被一个种族主义暴徒团伙从那里驱逐。
The future site of the museum is not far from the home that was built for Lee a couple of years ago on the same tree-lined corner lot that her family had been driven from by a racist mob when she was a young girl.
1939年的“六月十九日”，当时12岁的李正经历着这样一幕：在她一家刚搬进一个白人社区几天后，数百名白人暴徒袭击了她的黑人家庭住所。根据当时的新闻报道，暴徒们砸坏了窗户和家具。
Lee was 12 when, on Juneteenth in 1939, a white mob of hundreds descended on her Black family’s home, days after they moved into a white neighborhood. The mob smashed windows and furniture, according to newspaper reports from the time.
周三晚上，为庆祝李的生日，博物馆将在市会议中心举办一场与前第一夫人米歇尔·奥巴马的对话活动。
The celebration of Lee’s birthday continues Wednesday evening as the museum hosts a conversation with former first lady Michelle Obama at the city’s convention center.