Mattel's new Opal Lee Barbie goes on sale

Driving the news: Mattel released the Opal Lee Barbie on Thursday. Walmart, Target, Amazon and the Mattel website are now selling the Barbies.

State of play: The $38 doll depicts Lee at age 89, when she organized a walk from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C., to petition Congress to designate Juneteenth as a federal holiday.

• The doll rocks a purple T-shirt, white joggers, sneakers and glasses.
• "Dr. Lee exemplifies the power of purpose in action," Nathan Baynard, who oversees Barbie globally, said in a statement.

Context: For two and a half years, an estimated 250,000 enslaved people in Texas didn't know President Lincoln had declared them free through the Emancipation Proclamation.

• Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, announcing that enslaved Texans were now freed.

The intrigue: Lee, now 99, has written a memoir and is featured in several children's books.

• The books share how her experiences with racism in Fort Worth inspired her civil rights advocacy. Lee holds a 2.5-mile walk in the city every year to remind people of the significance of Juneteenth.

The bottom line: "I hope my story encourages the next generation to never underestimate the power of one voice," Lee said in a statement.

• "As I often say, one person can start a change, and that can change the world."