Michelle Obama will be in Fort Worth in celebration of Opal Lee. How you can get tickets to see the former first lady

Former First Lady Michelle Obama is coming to North Texas to celebrate the 100th birthday of beloved "Grandmother of Juneteenth" Opal Lee and the National Juneteenth Museum. 

And tickets for the Oct. 7 event at the Fort Worth Convention Center go on sale at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday.

The National Juneteenth Museum says "A Conversation with former First Lady Michelle Obama" is a part of its Uniting Voices Speaker Series, which has brought conversations about history, freedom, culture, and the future to Fort Worth.

Ms. Lee's centennial celebration will also center around her decades of advocacy and insight on paving the way to making Juneteenth a federal holiday.

Opal Lee's legacy lives on

The North Texas icon walked two and a half miles every Juneteenth to symbolize the two and a half years it took for enslaved people in Texas to learn they were free, after the Emancipation Proclamation. In 2016, she walked from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness.  

She was by President Biden's side when he made Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021. She also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2024. 

In January of this year, Lee was honored by Barbie-maker Mattel with an Inspiring Woman doll. And just this past summer, the city of Fort Worth honored Ms. Lee's accomplishments with a ceremony. 

Her granddaughter is currently advocating for Ms. Lee's story to be added to the state's Juneteenth curriculum.