Daniel Gordon Portrait Unveiling and Dedication
Daniel Gordon Portrait with Judith Gordon in foreground and flanked by Fannie Johnson and Patricia Vance-Harris
Daniel Gordon was an enslaved person at Menokin, and a photograph of Daniel is the only the one of an enslaved person at Menokin. After years of having a blurred photo, a descendant of Daniel’s son Lucious Gordon, Judith Gordon (pictured here), was gifted the original version of the portrait by Daniel’s last living granddaughter, Pearl Foster Brown.
Judith had the portrait digitized and restored, which was unveiled at Menokin’s First Descendants’ Day by his two great grandchildren, on the left Fannie Johnson, Warsaw, Va., and on the right, Patricia Vance-Harris, Lawnside, NJ.
The unveiling took place before the ceremonies so that Daniel Gordon could participate in the libation ceremony and tree dedication. This portrait, officially donated to the Menokin Foundation to display, returns Daniel to Menokin with dignity. His presence will remind us of our commitment to authentically tell the stories of all of the people who have occupied this space.
Photographs by Michael Beller, Reginald A. Pearman Jr., and Attendees.
