Menokin Descendant Spotlight Series - Kamala Lane
"THE MENOKIN DESCENDANT COLLECTIVE SPOTLIGHT SERIES" SHOWCASES STORIES ABOUT MODERN-DAY DESCENDANTS OF THOSE PERSONS ENSLAVED AT MENOKIN, BLACK-OWNED BUSINESSES, COMMUNITY LEADERS AND EVENTS, AND OTHER NOTABLE HIGHLIGHTS.
Our Menokin Descendant Collection Spotlight for August is Kamala Lane! Kamala is the great-great-granddaughter of Daniel Gordon and the great-great-great-granddaughter of Amanda Beverly and Stafford Gordon.
Kamala graduated from Rowan University in New Jersey with a degree in journalism. Before college and even before her stint with the Associated Press and Communications Daily, Kamala spent time in the New Jersey National Guard, even being deployed to Iraq. Since leaving the military, she has gotten her degree as well as moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in screenwriting as well as producing. In addition to her writing and producing, she is also beginning to pursue a career in audiobook narration.
Joining the Collective really opened Kamala’s eyes to the idea that there are pathways to finding out about her ancestors. For a very long time, the documentation surrounding enslaved people had mostly been a mystery and it has been a recent development that these documents are coming to light. She views the Menokin Descendant Collective as a collaborative effort with people doing things that no one would be able to do on their own.
Kamala shares, “For me being a Descendant is proof that my ancestors were here, and the power that was taken from them. I am a manifestation of that power.”
