Opal Lee
Lee campaigned for many years to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. She began a lead to walk  each year, representing the 2.5 years it took for news of the Emancipation Proclamation to reach Texas. At the age of 89, she walked from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington, D.C., leaving in September 2016 and arriving in Washington in January 2017. She was hoping to inspire President Barack Obama to make Juneteenth a holiday.