March 20, 2023
DALLAS – Honoring a legend for her legacy.
The National Society of Black Sports Professionals North Texas (BSPNTX) is honoring Ms. Opal Lee, the grandmother of Juneteenth, with its inaugural Legacy Award at the chapter's Women's History Month event on Wednesday, March 22 at the African American Museum of Dallas.
BSPNTX is recognizing Lee for her civic leadership in the North Texas community and years of activism to make Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday. The 2022 Noble Peace Prize finalist worked tirelessly for years to get Juneteenth national observance recognition. Her dream came true on June 17, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed Senate Bill S.475 (Juneteenth National Independence Day Act), establishing June 19 as the 11th federal holiday.
Lee's recognition is set to be the crescendo of BSPNTX's Women's History Month event – Play Like A Girl: Phenomenal Women in Sports – that will feature Kim Johnson (Senior Associate Director of Athletics and Senior Woman Administrator, Texas Christian University), Akellia Stewart (Chief Executive Officer, Customs by AK) and Kaleisha Stuart (Deputy General Counsel, Dallas Cowboys) with moderator Daija Douglas (Manager of Special Events, Austin Street Center) in an interactive panel discussion. This event is scheduled to run from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and is free to all attendees. Parking at Fair Park is also free by identifying yourself as an attendee of the event at the African American Museum.
Following the presentation, signed copies of Lee's book, Juneteenth: A Children's Story, will be available for purchase – $25 for a paperback, $40 for hardback – via credit card and CashApp.
BSPNTX is the fastest-growing, sports-centric networking organization in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The chapter has seen its active membership grow by 180 percent in the past 15 months, eclipsing the 100-member mark in August 2022. Over that same span, BSPNTX has grown its sponsorships to six partners – Dallas Mavericks, Reveal Suits, Texas Rangers, UNT Sport Entertainment Management, Colonial National Mortgage and Dallas Stars. The chapter has awarded $24,500 to 16 college students striving to be among the next generation of sports professionals in the first two years of its scholarships program.