AUSTIN (WBAP/KLIF) – A portrait of Fort Worth’s Opal Lee is now among others approved to hang on the walls of the Texas Senate Chamber inside the Texas State Capitol building in Austin.
The Civil Rights icon led the effort to make Juneteenth a Federal holiday.
During a ceremony on Wednesday, her portrait was officially commissioned to be hung in the Senate.
“For anybody that doesn’t think things get done in the Texas legislature, this is a bigger thing than most people will ever realize,” said Senator Roland Gutierrez. “It sends a message to young people across the world that brown kids, and black kids ,and kids of all colors, can do great things.
Barbara Jordan was the first black woman to have her portrait in the Senate. Opal Lee is the second. Lee and her family were front and center for the unveiling.
Lt. Governor Dan Patrick said Wednesday that a portrait had not been commissioned to be hung in the Senate in 43 years.
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