Oh, the unspeakable cruelties they inflicted on us... if only there were a means of adequate communication then...if only the enslaved and oppressed had their freedoms then...if only the bloodthirsty and greedy masters had been human enough to let the people go, to cease the infliction of shameful pain on my grandmothers, mothers and sisters and allowed all of  the products of their unholy unions to be educated as the gens de couleur libre were...to have freedom, to be educated, to know the Beauty of Her World is Divine...but in order to know Her Beauty in the fullest, we must Suffer and Survive...

And Her Divinity sparkles when It is reflected in the Descendents of  Her Core. My continuous work with the Sparkle Theatrical and Dance Troupe /First Steps Computer Programs lifts veils of concealment for me, I see Her Rays shining brightly, I feel Her presence strongly and I hear Her Voice...quietly...NEVER AGAIN!(21December,1998 Tapestry)

Precisely the case at our performance for the Juneteenth Celebration on June 5, 1999 in the Civil Rights District of Birmingham's Kelly Ingram Park and Civil Rights Institute under a beautiful Saturday sky.

Absorbing the knowledge of the informing of all the enslaved two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 on their Freedom, the Sparkle troupe performed with added strength and happiness! Giving themselves over to the dances,(from classic religious to urban popular), they gave to their ancestors the appreciation not allowed them centuries ago...And without comprehending the magnitude of their contribution to contemporary American history, the Sparkle girls,(pre-teen to teenage),
spoke without speaking, expressed themselves i.e. being enthusiastic children who loves life, and have thus set a positive example for their contemporaries in that adhering to an ancient form of expression/communication-The Dance- bounds the circle we formed on November 14, 1998 at the Chokwe! Family Day at the Birmingham Museum of Art(16 November 1998 Tapestry), tighter, which speaks to the global world of our determination, encouragement and dedication to Progress.

Gabrielle Lin
6 June, 1999