Lettice Graham has just turned 100 years old and she now has her own day in her home of New York City.
Graham had her very own birthday party and told “Good Morning America” (GMA) that she has been looking forward to her day for months. She was happy that her extended family from all over the country could attend the special occasion at the Alhambra Ballroom in Harlem.
One special guest who attended the celebration was New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Graham not only got to take a photo with him, but he also honored her with a proclamation declaring Saturday, February 5 as “Lettice Graham Day.”
Graham said that she loves to dress up, and for her big day she made sure to sparkle in a golden gown and wore a sash that read, “100 and Fabulous,” along with a “100” tiara.
Graham said her family “were coming from everywhere and they were really having a good time” and it was a “nice feeling that they had come this far, with the weather and all going on. It was great.”
Lettice Graham is 100 and she still knows how to #GetStuffDone in Harlem. Proud to join her to celebrate and honor her on her birthday today! pic.twitter.com/dZQD1ZM3Y3
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) February 5, 2022
Graham was born on Feb. 5, 1922, in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
“My mother had eight children and I was the youngest one. Out of the eight children, seven survived. I was the seventh child,” she shared with “GMA.”
Although Graham says she isn’t that surprised that she made it to 100, her focus has not been on living a long time, but on day-to-day experiences.
Reflecting on her past, she said, “I would think about surviving because I was growing up in the country — no transportation and then being Black, being segregated. A dilapidated bus would pick me up in the morning and I may have to walk back maybe about five miles. And being a young person, I was alone.”
So what is Graham’s secret to her longevity?
“Continue to be active. You can’t be inactive, even when you’re young. When you’re young, you’re in motion, but when you get older, you have to make sure that you allot time to be active,” she said, adding, “If you treat your body right, it will treat you right. You’d be surprised or I’m surprised that the body can endure so much.“
The Bible makes it clear in Job 14:5 that God is the one who decides how long we will live. It says, “You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer.”
Although Graham shared that she is not a “religious person,” she added, “Someone up there likes me because I had walked alone a lot.”