Museum news

National Juneteenth Museum a dream come true for 95-year-old North Texas trailblazer

Opal Lee interacts with President Joe Biden after he signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law in the East Room of the White House on June 17, 2021.

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The 95-year-old woman known as "the grandmother of Juneteenth" has earned another lifetime achievement: Opal Lee's hometown of Fort Worth will be home to the National Juneteenth Museum, the city announced.

The museum will be part of a mixed-use development that will help revitalize the Historic Southside neighborhood, according to a release. It will be built on the land that currently houses Lee’s Fort Worth Juneteenth Museum, which has served the community for nearly two decades, including as a filming location for the 2020 movie Miss Juneteenth.

Lee was by President Joe Biden's side at the White House when he signed a law declaring Juneteenth a holiday on June 17, 2021. The Juneteenth National Independence Day, which commemorates freedom for the enslaved via the abolition of slavery in the United States, became the 12th legal federal holiday — the first new one since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was signed into law in 1983.

A recognition of Juneteenth is something Lee — known affectionately around town as "Ms. Opal" — has dedicated much of her later life to. In 2016, a then-89-year-old launched Opal’s Walk 2 DC, a two-an-a-half-mile walk that symbolized the two-and-a-half years it took for slaves in Texas to learn they were free. She gathered 1.5 million signatures on a petition to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.

Lee, who sits on the board of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, also has been leading the charge toward a National Juneteenth Museum.

“To have lived long enough to see my walking and talking make an impact is one thing, but to know that a state-of-the-art museum that will house the actual pen that President Biden used to sign the bill, and many other exhibits, is coming to pass as well — I could do my holy dance again,” Lee says in the release.

Fort Worth-based public affairs firm Sable Brands says construction on the museum is expected to start in early 2022, with completion projected about a year later. The museum will be led by "a collaboration of activists, researchers, historians and everyday people who understand the influence of history on the trajectory of the human experience," they say.

A spokesman told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram the museum is expected to cost between $25 million and $30 million with funding through “various sources, including individual and corporate donors and government partners."

The National Juneteenth Museum will be designed to educate visitors on the "legacy and experiences of the enslaved and provide factual narratives about people who overcame the trials and hardships of oppression," the release says. "As the epicenter for the preservation of Juneteenth history and a center for discussions about freedom, the new museum will host events and exhibits that foster continued conversation on the global significance of freedom and the celebration of Juneteenth worldwide."

It also will host lectures and programs by renowned authorities on historical perspectives of freedom, they say.

Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker says she is excited to add the museum to the city's list of world-class museums.

“For decades, Juneteenth has been part of the fabric of our city," she says, "and this museum is a welcome addition to its incredible legacy.”

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You're Grounded

American and Southwest airlines ban humanoid robots as passengers

Photo courtesy of Elite Event Robotics/Instagram

Bebop the robot, owned by Dallas-based Elite Event Robotics, flew in May on a Southwest Airlines flight from Oakland, California, to San Diego.

Dallas-Fort Worth's two major hometown airlines are drawing a hard line between human and humanoid: American Airlines and Southwest Airlines won’t permit human-like or animal-like robots to board flights as passengers.

Fort Worth-based American and Dallas-based Southwest recently adopted bans on robotic passengers after two incidents in which human-like robots joined flesh-and-blood passengers on Southwest flights.

In May, Aaron Mehdizadeh, owner of The Robot Studio rental company in Dallas, was heading from Las Vegas to Dallas Love Field with 3.5-foot-tall Stewie, according to CBS News Texas. Rather than shipping Stewie as cargo, Mehdizadeh bought the robot its own seat using a type of ticket often purchased for fragile items such as wedding dresses and equipment.

But because Stewie was technically a carry-on item, the robot wasn’t supposed to occupy a seat, according to eWeek. Crew members wound up disconnecting Stewie’s battery and relocating the robot to a window seat before takeoff.

Mehdizadeh pushed back on Southwest’s stance regarding the battery, telling CBS News Texas that Stewie’s power supply is a standard battery that’s similar to one for a laptop.

Stewie isn’t the only robot making mischief in the skies. In May, a 70-pound, human-like robot named Bebop caused a stir on a Southwest flight from Oakland, California, to San Diego.

The robot prompted a nearly one-hour flight delay after crew members realized it violated restrictions on large carry-ons and raised concerns about the battery, San Francisco TV station KGO reported. Dallas-based Elite Event Robotics owns Bebop.

Southwest seized Bebop’s lithium-ion battery, but the airline did let Bebop take the San Diego-bound flight.

Southwest’s new robot policy prohibits human-like or animal-like robots from riding in an airplane cabin or as checked baggage, no matter their size or purpose. All other robots, including toys, must fit in a carry-on size bag and comply with battery restrictions, the airline says.

In a statement sent to CultureMap, a Southwest spokeswoman says the airline “has taken a strong stance on this issue and has led the U.S. airline industry with our battery policy.”

“The robot policy is a further evolution of a [safety] journey we have been on for several months. This move was not in response to any single incident,” the spokeswoman adds. “To eliminate confusion, the policy applies to all similar devices, regardless of size.”

Lithium-ion batteries can overheat, catch on fire, or explode on airplanes.

American’s new robot policy, which took effect Monday, August 17, is similar to Southwest’s. The policy prohibits human-like and animal-like robots from sitting in a purchased seat, being stored in an overhead bin or traveling as checked baggage. The ban applies to U.S., international, and regional flights.

“While there have been no known events involving this type of robot on any American flight, this policy was developed following a comprehensive review of safety risks associated with these devices, including the large lithium-ion batteries that power them,” the airline said in an internal memo obtained by the View From the Wing travel blog.

American gate agents have been told not to allow a passenger accompanied by a robot to board a plane or to let a robot travel as a checked item, the memo says.

If a robot is discovered after check-in, American employees are supposed to follow the Federal Aviation Administration’s “undeclared dangerous goods” procedures. These procedures cover hazardous shipments like lithium-ion batteries, explosives, flammable liquids, and compressed gases that lack required warning labels or shipping documents.

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