No ribbon cuttings here! Members of Trinity Habitat for Humanity, Texas Capital and HistoryMaker Homes cut a 2×6 wood stud with a miter saw to commemorate a new home for Dr. Opal Lee, the “Grandmother of Juneteenth.”
“Our goal with every home we build is to create a place where owners can feel a sense of pride, and we are deeply honored to be part of such a meaningful project,” said Nelson Mitchell, CEO of HistoryMaker Homes. “Dr. Lee represents the very best of our community and our nation in her determination for racial justice, and there is no better way to express our profound gratitude than through her new home. Alongside our more than 50 partners and trades, our entire team at HistoryMaker is proud to work together on this momentous home build.”
As a young girl in 1939, Dr. Lee watched her family home burn to the ground.
She never lost hope of someday owning her family’s lot. Dr. Lee inquired about purchasing the lot from Trinity Habitat for Humanity. And they generously gave it to her for $10! Then, Texas Capital learned of the need to build Dr. Lee a new home. They reached out to HistoryMaker Homes, a longtime residential homebuilding partner, to propose involvement in this historic project. To Dr. Lee’s excitement, HistoryMaker Homes generously offered to build the home at no cost to Dr. Lee.
Jon Larson, Texas Capital’s Head of Homebuilder and Community Finance, Nelson Mitchell, CEO of HistoryMaker Homes, and Gage Yager, CEO of Trinity Habitat for Humanity along with staff and volunteers celebrated the wall raising of Dr. Lee’s new home in Fort Worth. Following the board cutting presentation they got down to the business of raising the walls.
Dr. Lee recently visited the HistoryMaker Homes design center. There, she selected all of the flooring, fixtures and lighting for her planned home. And Texas Capital Foundation will provide funding to furnish the home.
When reflecting on our history with Dr. Opal Lee, Gage Yager, CEO of Trinity Habitat for Humanity said, “we’re here to partner with a friend to build a home and in a little way erase a big negative from all those years ago.”
About Dr. Lee
Known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” Dr. Opal Lee dedicated decades of her life to educating people about the significance of Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States and marks the day that enslaved Texans learned of their freedom. Dr. Lee worked to ensure Juneteenth’s national recognition, culminating in its designation as a federal holiday in 2021.
About HistoryMaker
For 75 years, HistoryMaker Homes has made home ownership easy for customers. Intelligent construction, energy efficiency, flexible home technology, and functional floor plans are part of every HistoryMaker home. As a fourth-generation, family-owned business, HistoryMaker Homes builds communities throughout Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston and San Antonio. In addition, HistoryMaker is ranked #25 by Homebuilder on its Top Private Homebuilders in the Nation list and #57 on Builder Magazine’s list of Top 100 Homebuilders Nationwide list.
