In 2016, at 89 years old, Opal Lee, a former teacher, walked from her home in Fort Worth, Texas, to the nation’s capital in an effort to get Juneteenth named a national holiday. 89 years old.

The long-time activist was there when Biden signed into law a bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States.

And Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black vice president, also gave Lee her due in her remarks, saying, “And looking out across this room, I see the advocates, the activists, the leaders, who have been calling for this day for so long, including the one and only Ms. Opal Lee.