About the film
History remembers the breakthrough. It doesn’t always remember who carried it there.
The Wait of HerStory follows four women whose work is preserving history, strengthening communities, and moving culture forward, often without the visibility their impact deserves.
They come from different places and carry different stories. Yet each has taken on something larger than herself: a movement, a community, a legacy, and a history that cannot be forgotten.
Opal Lee, the Grandmother of Juneteenth, walked her way to a national holiday at 90.
Dione Sims, Opal’s granddaughter, is carrying the torch forward, from the fight for Juneteenth to a run for Congress in Texas’s 25th District.
Corina Torralba Harrington, celebrated Juneteenth for years without knowing why, until she learned her great-grandfather was among the enslaved people who escaped to Nacimiento, Mexico.
Windy Goodloe, is making sure America remembers the Black Seminoles, who fought on its front lines and are still missing from its history books.
But behind the milestones are questions rarely ask. What does it cost to keep showing up for history when history is slow to show up for you?
Who Suports the women doing the supporting
And what keeps someone going when the work matters more than the applause?
The Wait of HerStory looks beyond achievement to the human story behind the work: the sacrifice, the relationships, the joy, the disappointment, and the choices that rarely make it into the history books.
The wait and the weight. That is the heart of this film.
This is not simply a film about four extraordinary women and what they have accomplished. It is an invitation to see them fully: what it took to get there, what they still carry, and why they keep going.
Because sometimes history isn’t waiting to be made. It is already happening. We just haven’t been paying attention.
JOIN THE JOURNEY
The Wait of HerStory is an independent film, and it is being made possible by people who believe these stories belong in our history. We’re filming now through March 2027, then heading into the edit, with our sights set on the festival circuit in fall 2027. There are three ways to be part of it.
⭐️ Give. Our goal is to raise $150,000 to take this film from production to premiere, covering filming, travel, editing, film festivals, and promotion. Every gift moves the film forward, and organizations can partner with us as sponsors.
⭐️ Lend your skills. If you have time, talent, or connections that could help this film reach further, we’d love to hear from you.
⭐️ Share it. Send this film project page to someone who believes stories like these deserve to be seen, heard, and remembered. Making sure one more person knows is real help.
MAIN CHARACTERS
Opal Lee
Opal Lee was born on October 7, 1926. She is an American retired teacher, counselor, and activist in the movement to make Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday. She is often described as the "Grandmother of Juneteenth". Opal Lee spent decades advocating for Juneteenth to become a national holiday. On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed Senate Bill S. 475 into law, commemorating the day that Union Soldiers rode to Galveston to inform enslaved Texans that they were free, approximately 2.5 years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, and making Juneteenth the eleventh federal holiday.
Dione Sims
Dione Sims is the President and Founder of Unity Unlimited, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to fostering unity and understanding, and the Founding Executive Director of the National Juneteenth Museum. Known as the "Granddaughter of Juneteenth," she has co-produced the Annual Juneteenth Fort Worth Celebration with Dr. Opal Lee (her grandmother) since 2015, spearheaded the Opal's Walk campaign for national holiday recognition, and stood beside Dr. Opal Lee at the White House for the historic bill signing that made Juneteenth a federal holiday. She continues that legacy with her grandmother through Opal's Farm, an urban farming initiative combating food insecurity in her community. Now, Dione Sims has earned the congressional nomination for her district in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. Dione is taking her lifelong mission of community, freedom, and empowerment directly to the national stage.
Corina Torralba Harrington
Corina Torralba Harrington, is a Mexican American, and is a descendant of Black Seminoles who were formerly enslaved Blacks that lived among Native Americans in Florida before going to Mexico. Rather than staying at home in Texas where Juneteenth was first celebrated, Corina goes to her birthplace of Nacimiento de los Negros in Mexico, where her ancestors built a community long before slavery fully ended in the United States. Corina is a member of the Seminole Indian Scot Cemetery Association. She is committed to her culture and history and speaks around the country educating those who do not know the story .
Windy Goodloe
Windy Goodloe is an historian, educator, and writer. She is a staff member at the at the museum of the Seminole Indian Scout Cemetery Association. Goodloe grew up in Brackettville, TX where she spent most of her early life with her grandparents. She recalls being usually one of very few African American students in the local schools, and in particular her relationship with Mexican American students. Her focus is sharing her story and the lost story of the Black Seminole and their contributions to America.
Make a difference
We started this film without waiting for permission. Finishing it will take a community that believes these women, and the histories they hold, have waited long enough. Jane Kellie Films is raising $150,000 to complete filming and take The Wait of Herstory through editing, archival licensing, post-production, and onto festival screens. Every gift, at every level, moves these stories from memory to the screen. Please give today, then share this page with everyone you know. Our history is American history. Let's make sure it doesn't wait another day.
Thank you so much!
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