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Opal Lee, Grandmother of Juneteenth, Gets Her Own Barbie Doll

On Jan. 22, Mattel released a Barbie honoring Opal Lee, priced at $37.80 and available in stores nationwide, according to Lee's granddaughter Dione Sims.
Because of her years-long campaign, Opal Lee's decades of advocacy helped make Juneteenth a federal holiday in June 2021 and included a 1,400-mile trek to Washington, D.C.
Designed by Carlyle Nuera and packaged by Vicky Gevorkyan, the doll replicates Lee's Walk for Freedom outfit with a blue Unity Unlimited Opal's Walk for Freedom T-shirt, white pants, sneakers, and glasses.
Lee said `It has been a joy to partner with Barbie on my Inspiring Women doll` and social media users praised the tribute, with one saying `Thank you @barbie for seeing that representation matters and makes the world a better place!`.
The release positions Lee among real-life trailblazers in the Barbie Inspiring Women series alongside Venus Williams, Jane Goodall and Maya Angelou, highlighting her Presidential Medal of Freedom and more than a half dozen honorary doctorates.

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Barbie Salutes Opal Lee, 'Grandmother of Juneteenth,' with Her Own Doll in Inspiring Women Collection

The activist doll was designed by Carlyle NueraCindy Ord/Getty; Mattel Dr. Opal Lee on March 20, 2025 in Washington, DC, and the Dr. Opal Lee Barbie dollNEED TO KNOWBarbie announced that Dr. Opal Lee is receiving a doll for the Barbie Inspiring Women collectionThe 99-year-old activist is best known as “Grandmother of Juneteenth" for leading the charge to make Juneteenth a national holidayCarlyle Nuera designed the doll, and Vicky Gevorkyan desig…

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