By: Maximiliano Reyes
Black History Month honors legacy and legacy lives forward.
For Kameron Simmonds, legacy is not an idea. It is lived. It is inherited. It is worn across her chest in black, green, and gold.
Grandfather. Father. Daughter.
Three generations representing Jamaica on the international stage.
Home Across the Water
Though Simmonds grew up in Midlothian, Virginia, Jamaica was never distant. Her grandparents still live in Kingston. Her grandfather wakes before sunrise to drive an hour to work on his farm in Portland. Her grandmother runs her own business. The work never stopped, and neither did the pride.
Every summer, despite packed schedules with school and soccer, her parents brought their four children back to the island.
“Even when it was hard,” Simmonds recalled, “they took us back.”
Kingston gave her the rhythm of city life. Beyond that, Jamaica opens into mountains and narrow coastal roads that lead to endless beaches. Portland. Negril. Montego Bay. Family in every direction.
“It always felt like home.” she reflected
Her father left Jamaica at 15, but when he returns, his eyes still light up. He drives past the house where he grew up. The school he attended. He paints pictures of a childhood he says there was nothing better than.
That pride became an inheritance.
A Game Passed Down
Soccer runs through the Simmonds family.
Her father represented Jamaica at the international level and built his life around the sport. Today, he runs a technical training facility focused purely on the craft of the game. First touch. Precision. Development. His love for football did not fade after his playing days. It evolved.
Reflecting on their shared experience of representing Jamaica, Simmonds smiled.
“He couldn’t be prouder. It’s just pride.”
Her younger brother has also worn Jamaican colors at the youth level, continuing the family tradition while carving out his own path.
In Jamaican culture, family and community are inseparable. When her father immigrated to the United States, he did not come alone. Seven cousins and friends came with him. They lived together. Played together. Supported one another.
Eight Jamaicans on one Howard University soccer team.
That closeness never left.
Wearing the Jersey
For Simmonds, wearing the Jamaican crest carries layers of meaning.
She may not have grown up on the island full time, but she grew up with it. She returned often, surrounded by extended family, proud to share her heritage long before a national team call up was ever a possibility.
So when she stood on the World Cup stage and heard the Jamaican national anthem, it was overwhelming.
“Just a deep, deep sense of pride.” she shared.
Her grandmother flew across the world to witness her World Cup debut. They were there when Jamaica tied Brazil and advanced, making history. Tears followed. For Simmonds. For her father. For her family. For the country.
“It’s one thing for me to be part of that,” she explained. “But it’s another to see your country break barriers on the world stage.”
The Reggae Girlz were not just competing. They were expanding what was possible.
Legacy in Motion
Three generations have now represented Jamaica.
Grandfather. Father. Daughter.
Not just as footballers, but as carriers of heritage.
The pride remains active in the way the family supports Jamaica during hurricanes, sending supplies and donations. In the way her father still speaks of Kingston as home. In the way Simmonds feels the honor of the crest each time she pulls it on.
Her roots hold firm in heritage and sacrifice.
Her branches stretch beyond stadium lights.
And in that space between past and future, Kameron Simmonds continues the legacy, not just for her family, but for Jamaica.
