Her great-grandma escaped slavery. She understood what that meant in a pilgrimage to Africa

Juanita Galloway traveled to Ghana this summer to mark the 400-year anniversary of the first slaves arriving in Jamestown, Virginia.

She talked to KUOW's Angela King about her great-grandmother’s emancipation, the pain of visiting a slave-holding fortress, and what it felt like to not be in the minority for the first time.

Angela King: Did you grow up hearing any stories about your slave heritage?

Oh yes. My great-grandmother was a slave in Virginia. I'm not sure exactly what city. But as the lore was passed down, when it was her 13th birthday, the mistress told her to go down to the river and get eggs and butter -- they didn't have refrigeration, so that's where they were kept -- to make a cake for her birthday.

Apparently she had longed to be free, and when she went down to the river she got the eggs and the butter, but she also got a handful of snakes and then ran back up and threw the snakes at the mistress and got to steppin' to freedom.

And we never really know who helped her along the way, what path she took. She didn't have shoes on, or a map, probably not many clothes. Thirteen years old, I don't know how she did it, but obviously she had such a desire for freedom. And who wouldn't?

What was it like for you in Africa?

That was very emotional. I cried a lot, not out of sadness but of joy. They were just welcoming us, like it was a big family reunion. And right away we felt they wanted us back, and we just felt so loved.

We mostly stayed in Accra, Ghana. But one of the trips that we took was a four- to five-hour trip to Cape Coast to Elmina, where one of the oldest dungeons and slave castles is still there.

As we walked to the castle, it felt like a funeral procession, because we were going to a place where likely some of our ancestors had been kept.

The experience is very emotional. It's like if you knew a location where somebody had a car accident, or maybe was shot, and you drive by there. For instance, when I drive by the hospital where my niece died at 30 years old, every time I drive by that hospital I kind of tear up because it brings back the memories and the thoughts of her last minutes.

And so that's kind of the feeling that I get, that those may have been their last minutes in Africa, their home, where they were citizens — free citizens.

What did this trip change for you?

I'm an African-American person who grew up in Seattle, born in Seattle and have always felt like a minority.

Yeah definitely, we are a minority in Seattle. But seeing so many African people and feeling for once like I'm normal, like I'm not the minority, I am part of the people. And just feeling like I'm home. I'm not just lost in the United States. I do have roots.

And I just know that because I'm a descendant of someone that had such a strong spirit and determination, that I can't give up. She didn't give up. At 13 years old by herself, probably barefoot and alone. It just lets me know that I can do so much more. Gives me that courage.