Reprise of Paradise Passing, Black Gems

Tickets available on Sankofa Festival Main Page

Sunday, August 23. FREE

2:00 pm Reprise of Paradise Passing

Written by Deja Cotton

Paradise Passing is a stirring call to action—a love letter to Black women and girls that urges them to reclaim their voices in a world that too often demands their silence. The play centers on Squeak, a young woman rendered meek and quiet by a lifetime of violence. Her only refuge has been the pages of her journal, where she writes the words she cannot speak aloud. When her mother passes, Squeak is left with a final, formidable wish: she must find her voice and deliver a eulogy at the funeral.

This deeply moving one-act follows Squeak’s journey from silence to song, from fear to fierce self-expression. It is a universal story about the courage it takes to speak one’s truth—and the liberation that follows.