Episodio 74: The Fight for Juneteenth (La lucha por Juneteenth)

Duolingo English for Spanish Speakers Podcast

Antes de comenzar, es importante tener en cuenta que esta historia contiene una escena que presenta condiciones de racismo explícito, por lo que puede resultar perturbador para algunos oyentes.

Hasta el día de hoy, a sus 96 años, Opal Lee recuerda los veranos de su infancia en Marshall, un pueblo en el estado de Texas.

Todos los 19 de Junio, su familia asistía a una feria que celebraba un día muy especial llamado Juneteenth.

“June” por junio y “teenth” por “Nineteenth”, o diecinueve.

On Juneteenth, we always went to the fairground.

It was a place with ball games, speeches, music, food, and food, and food! I remember the watermelon, the red soda, and the smell of barbecue and roasted corn.

We always dressed in our best clothes on Juneteenth.

It was like Christmas to me.

En muchos lugares de Estados Unidos, pero especialmente en el estado de Texas, estas festividades conmemoran el 19 de Junio de 1865.

Este es el día en que las personas negras esclavizadas en Texas se enteraron de su libertad, o freedom.

Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom.

But as a little girl, it was all just fun to me.

Years later, I learned the meaning of Juneteenth, but I realized that many people in the United States didn’t celebrate this day.

I wanted to help change that.

So, I decided to walk across the country to help people understand why Juneteenth needed to be a national holiday.

Welcome, les damos la bienvenida a “Relatos en inglés”, un podcast de Duolingo.

Soy Diana Gameros.

En cada episodio podrás practicar inglés a tu propio ritmo, escuchando historias reales y fascinantes, contadas por las personas que las vivieron.

En el episodio de hoy presentaremos a una sola protagonista.

Se trata de la señora Opal Lee.

A sus 89 años, se propuso caminar para que Juneteenth fuera reconocido como un día festivo en todo el país.

Y hoy, presentamos su historia.

Una pequeña nota antes de comenzar: Opal es del estado de Texas, en el sur de los Estados Unidos, donde mucha gente tiene un acento distinto.

Por eso, notarás que la “er” al final de una palabra, suena como una “a”.

Entonces remember se pronuncian “rememba” y other es “otha”.

Desde pequeña, Opal Lee celebra Juneteenth, una fiesta muy importante para su familia.

Y para entender bien su historia, hay que saber que Estados Unidos había permitido la esclavitud desde su independencia en 1776.

Hasta que, en el año 1863, el presidente Abraham Lincon firmó una orden para liberar a todas las personas esclavizadas, o “enslaved people”.

Pero era plena guerra civil entre el norte y el sur del país, y mucha gente no hizo caso a la orden.

It seems unbelievable that many enslaved people didn’t know they could be free! In some parts of the country, many people who owned enslaved people didn’t respect the law.

So, while other Black people in the country were free, there were still hundreds of thousands of enslaved people in the state of Texas who were not.

A medida que las tropas del norte avanzaban, implementaban la orden de libertad.

Se demoraban dos años y medio en llegar a Galveston, una isla en la costa de Texas, en el sur.

Fue uno de los últimos lugares en ser liberados, el 19 de junio de 1865.

En los años que siguieron, las comunidades negras empezaron a juntarse para conmemorar esta liberación.

When the enslaved people of Texas heard that they were finally free, they celebrated.

And after that day, we started celebrating freedom every year on Juneteenth.

We have barbecues and music in backyards and parks.

Red is one of the official colors for the celebration, with red foods and red decorations.

We also walk together for two and a half miles to remember the two and a half years that some enslaved people waited to be free.

It started in Texas, but people also celebrate in other parts of the country!

Así que para Opal, este día era sobre todo sinónimo de alegría.

Pero un año, en 1939, Juneteenth no trajo tan buenos recuerdos.

Opal tenía doce años y su familia se había mudado a su primera casa en la ciudad de Forth Worth, Texas.

Era en un barrio donde la mayoría de las personas eran blancas.

Su mamá arregló la casa y la decoró para celebrar Juneteenth.

My mom decorated the house for Juneteenth.

It was so beautiful.

But just a few days after we moved in, I heard people shouting outside our house.

When I looked out the window, I saw a group of white people.

They were so angry because they didn’t want Black families in the neighborhood.

I was so scared because I didn’t understand what was happening.

Un grupo de extremistas blancos empezó a reunirse para expulsar a las familias negras del vecindario.

Se quedaron varios días, hasta el 19 de junio.

A las pocas horas la multitud, o the mob, era incontenible, incluso para la policía.

My dad sent us to a friend’s house in the middle of the night because he wanted us to be safe.

The mob took out all of our furniture, burned it and destroyed our house.

We were not accepted in the neighborhood.

And it made me think: It doesn’t seem like we are all free to live where we want to live.

So, what does freedom really mean?

Con el tiempo, su familia compró una nueva casa, pero Opal seguía pensando en ¿qué significaba ser libre? Ya adulta, tuvo una larga carrera como educadora.

Siguió celebrando Juneteenth con sus amigos y colegas.

Cuando se jubiló, decidió continuar aportando a su comunidad fuera del aula.

I joined other civil rights activists.

We realized a lot of the local newspapers and libraries did not include the history of Black people in Fort Worth.

So, we decided to tell it ourselves! While we collected photos and other evidence about important events in our community, I learned more about the history of Juneteenth.

I also helped to organize our local Juneteenth celebrations.

They started small, but they became bigger and bigger.

One year, the newspaper reported that there were 30,000 people who came!

Pero para Opal y otros activistas por los derechos civiles, o civil rights activists, celebrar localmente no era suficiente.

En muchos estados del país, Juneteenth no era un día festivo, así que no se podía tomar el día libre.

Y sobre todo, para Opal, muchas personas no entendían el mensaje de Juneteenth.

I organized many big Juneteenth celebrations in Fort Worth, and it was usually only Black people celebrating.

But freedom is for everyone, not just for Black people! Everyone should celebrate and remember Juneteenth! Freedom comes in many forms.

All people should have freedom to read and write, freedom to own property, freedom to have our own schools, churches, and communities.

We should all celebrate freedom.

So, I started thinking that everyone should know about Juneteenth.

I, like others, thought it should be a national holiday!

Al volverse un día festivo nacional, o national holiday, Juneteenth sería conocido y celebrado igual que cualquier otra fecha oficial.

Durante muchos años, Opal y sus compañeros lo soñaron.

Organizaron campañas y marchas, y trataron de convencer a políticos, pero todo fue en vano.

We wanted people to look at the calendar and ask, “What is Juneteenth?” And then we could tell them, “It’s all about freedom!” I was getting older and even though we were working hard to teach people about Juneteenth, nothing was changing.

Some politicians supported us and tried to make Juneteenth a national holiday, but they weren’t successful.

I knew that we needed to try something else.

And I wasn’t going to do nothing and wait for change to happen.

I had to do something!

Así que a sus 89 años, Opal tuvo una idea.

Como lo hacía cada año en los desfiles de Juneteenth, caminaría 2.5 millas, o 4 kilómetros, en honor a los dos años y medio que se tardó en liberar a las personas esclavizadas de Texas.

Pero esta vez, Opal caminaría todos los días.

Lo haría para llamar la atención del público y de una persona en particular: el presidente de los Estados Unidos, Barack Obama.

I decided that I was going to walk every day until people listened to my message.

So, with the support of my family and friends, I started making a plan.

I thought, if people see an 89-year-old woman walking across the country, they will have to pay attention! And I wanted to talk about Juneteenth with President Obama.

After all, he was the first Black President of the United States! I wanted the whole country to understand that freedom was for everyone.

Un día de septiembre de 2016, Opal se levantó y fue a la iglesia de su barrio.

Después de una pequeña ceremonia y fiesta de despedida, Opal empezó a caminar con otros simpatizantes.

Ella iba adelante.

I said my prayers and we started walking! We walked on the side of the road, and we carried signs that said: “Juneteenth — A NATIONAL HOLIDAY!” and “Go, Ms.

Opal!” People drove past us and cheered, and we had so much fun.

We walked for two and a half miles, remembering the two and a half years that the enslaved people in Texas waited to be free.

If I had to walk all the way to Washington, D.C, then, I was ready to do it.

A lo largo del camino, Opal paraba en escuelas, iglesias y universidades para dar charlas sobre Juneteenth.

Recibió invitaciones en varias ciudades del país para caminar dos millas y media diarias.

Recogió firmas para una petición oficial que podría presentar al gobierno para que aprobara una ley y reconociera Juneteenth como día festivo nacional.

I wasn’t sure if people outside of Texas were going to care, but I ended up being invited to many different states! I walked two and a half miles each day, and I walked in fourteen states.

I had such a good time.

Everywhere I went, people gave me food and let me stay in their homes.

I got to meet so many people and tell them about Juneteenth.

Most of them supported the idea.

And everywhere I went, I asked people to sign my petition and to tell their friends and families about it!

Llegó enero de 2017, el último mes de la presidencia de Obama.

Opal viajó a Washington, D.C.

para lo que pensó era su última caminata.

Pero al llegar, se enteró de que el Presidente no estaba en la Casa Blanca.

Así que Opal caminó hacia el Congreso, el poder legislativo del país.

Allí, se reunió con algunos congresistas, o members of Congress.

Para que Juneteenth fuera designado día festivo nacional, tendrían que aprobar una ley.

I really wanted to meet President Obama, but I learned he wasn’t going to be in D.C.

on the day that I planned to walk.

I wasn’t able to talk to him about Juneteenth.

But I still got to meet some members of Congress, and I asked them to make Juneteenth a national holiday.

I was sad, but I was not ready to give up.

Opal regresó a Fort Worth.

Siguió recolectando firmas para su petición y caminando en Texas y otros estados durante varios años.

Pero en mayo de 2020, ocurrió un evento trágico que cambió el significado y el destino de su campaña.

On May 25th 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died after a white officer held him…

George Floyd, un hombre negro, fue asesinado por un oficial de policía en Minnesota.

Millones de personas salieron a protestar en todo el país.

When I heard about George Floyd, I thought, “How is it possible that in 2020, we still have the same issues?” I thought about the day the mob burned our house in Fort Worth.

We weren’t free then, and we still weren’t free 80 years later.

But during the next couple of months, I noticed that many other people were upset about the murder of George Floyd.

And it wasn’t just Black people.

People all over the world cared about Black lives and freedom, and they started to pay attention to my walks and Juneteenth.

Those terrible events gave Juneteenth a new meaning for a lot of people.

And I knew that things were starting to change.

Con esta nueva conciencia, la caminata de Opal recibió mucha atención del público, incluso de gente famosa, y su petición alcanzó un millón y medio de firmas.

Poco tiempo después, varios miembros del congreso propusieron leyes, o bills, para convertir Juneteenth en día festivo nacional.

Pero nunca conseguían apoyo suficiente en el congreso.

Hasta un día de junio del 2021.

In Fort Worth, I sat and watched Congress vote “yes” on making Juneteenth a national holiday.

And then they said, “The bill is passed!” and I screamed because I was so happy.

I couldn’t believe it.

I felt like dancing! The whole country was finally going to celebrate Juneteenth.

El mismo día, Dione, la nieta de Opal, recibió más buenas noticias.

El Presidente Joe Biden había requerido la presencia de Opal para la firma oficial de la ley.

Sin pensarlo dos veces, Opal empacó su maleta y alistó su viaje a la Casa Blanca, o the White House.

They invited me to come to the White House on the day when Juneteenth officially became a holiday.

I was so happy.

I felt like a kid in a candy store! I couldn’t believe that I was going to the White House to meet the President.

I was so excited to be part of that moment!

El 17 de junio de 2021, Opal llegó a la capital estadounidense.

Llevaba su cabello rizado y canoso recogido.

Entró al salón Este, o East Room, de la Casa Blanca con su nieta y las acomodaron en la primera fila.

The East Room was full of journalists, photographers, and members of Congress.

The President walked towards me and asked me to join him while he signed the bill.

Then, he gave me the pen he used.

We talked for a little while, and he said some very nice things to me.

Everybody always asks me what he said, but I don’t want to tell anyone.

It’s my secret! I couldn’t believe the President was paying attention to me, a little old lady in tennis shoes.

Opal y su nieta regresaron a Fort Worth, justo a tiempo para las celebraciones de Juneteenth, por primera vez un día festivo nacional.

Everyone was excited! And as soon as we got home, we did our planned walk, but now we were walking to celebrate.

We also began to plan the next Juneteenth because it was now officially a holiday! We worked with other cities so people could walk at the same time in different places across the country.

Working together like that was so special to me.

Many of my friends and older generations wanted to see this day, but they have passed away.

Today I think they would say, “Thank you!” There is still so much work to do because none of us are free until we’re all free.

But I’m so happy that I’m still alive to see this day celebrated as a national holiday.

Opal Lee es una educadora y activista de Fort Worth, Texas.

Gracias a su trabajo, Opal se ganó el apodo de la abuela de Juneteenth.

También fue nominada para el Premio Nobel de la Paz en 2022.

Hoy, apoya a su nieta Dione Sims en su nuevo proyecto: El museo nacional de Juneteenth.

Este episodio fue producido por Laura Ubaté, una productora colombiana de Adonde Media.