First Menokin Descendants’ Day Videos

On October 1, 2022, the First Menokin Descendants' Day took place. Over 100 people joined us at Menokin to commemorate their enslaved ancestors.

Descendants traveled from Texas, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia to be a part of this momentous occasion.

This page hosts some of the video content from the day.

TRIBUTE TO MENOKIN’S FIRST DESCENDANTS’ DAY BY REGINALD A. PEARMAN

Reginald A. Pearman is on the Board of Trustees at Menokin. Reggie is a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer and currently runs a non-profit named PhotoMath S.T.E.M. Living in Maryland, Reggie traveled to Menokin for First Menokin Descendants’ Day by invitation to photograph and take video during this momentous occasion. Here is a video montage Reggie created in honor of the descendants of those enslaved at Menokin that offers his experience of the day.

CEREMONIES AT MENOKIN’S FIRST DESCENDANT’S DAY

Videos were produced of each ceremony at First Menokin’s Descendants’ Day. Shot largely unedited or altered, the intention is to offer an unfiltered experience of these amazing moments for those that could not attend the day, or those who may have been at another activity at the time of the ceremony. These ceremonies are offered in chronological order. All one needs to do is click the play button. All ceremony videos are privately hosted on Vimeo, and only viewed by those that visit this page.

Each ceremony has also been edited on its own below for those who wish to view one or more of the ceremonies. Simply click the image to be taken to Vimeo to privately watch the clip.

We will be adding more videos and highlights to this page, including more from the Tree Grove Ceremony, as well as speakers such as Karen Dixon-Rexroth’s keynote presentation of the incredible story of her family’s reclamation of the Sharswood Plantation, where her ancestors had been enslaved over a century earlier.

We would like to thank the content creators who worked on this aspect of the day including the Menokin Foundation staff, Forrest French and Reginald A. Pearman. We especially thank the descendants of the enslaved persons at Menokin for inviting the artists to witness and record moments from this special day. More may be found about First Menokin’s Descendants’ Day, including extensive photo galleries here, as well as information about the Menokin Descendant Collective here .

These videos are protected by copyright and are not to be used or distributed without the prior written consent of the artist and/or Menokin Foundation. Email menokin@menokin.org for more information. Copyright 2022.