As the Lady Conquerors stepped, they interlaced their vibrant routine with proclamations and exhortations that were related to King’s claim that, “We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny.” It is indeed possible for people across racial and social divides to be united, the girls exclaimed. But the promise of this possibility can only be rooted in the individual’s personal conversion toward Christ.
Though many fixate on political identities and social categories, there is something that goes much deeper than any of these labels. The human heart’s thirst for the redemptive and transformative love of God, in whose image each person has been made, cuts across divides of all kinds-a point which the Lady Conquerors emphatically demonstrated as they tore up “society’s labels,” which they had worn taped to their backs until that point in the performance.
“They don’t know why we step!” interjected one of the steppers in the middle of the performance. “So why don’t you tell them?” responded another. “We step to tell you about our pain, to tell you our stories.” In this way, the performance brought King’s words about the transformative power of Christian charity to life. Inviting others to witness the transformation of one’s pain into a beautiful piece of art, more so than bringing one’s oppressors to justice, is one way we can be tied into the “single garment of destiny” of which King spoke.
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