Cianna Greaves

A vendor poses with one of the Juneteenth flags he was selling in Garfield Park on June 18, 2021.

I’m the daughter of Black African immigrants. Here’s what Juneteenth means to me.

Juneteenth is a new tradition for me. While my lineage isn’t rooted in America, all of the lessons my parents taught me about history were centered on the dream of freedom, WBEZ’s Cianna Greaves writes.

By Cianna Greaves

Cianna Greaves’ grandmother Keturah Matheson, born June 4, 1911, St. Ann’s, Jamaica.

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My family lived in Jamaica under British rule. Their struggle should not be forgotten.

Most of my mother’s stories of growing up in Jamaica had a common theme of shame and poverty. Somehow my mom and grandmom were able to reconcile their resistance to colonialism with their love of the Queen.

By Cianna Greaves