The Gloryworks Experience was born at McKinney high school which is located in McKinney Texas.  The artist, Darrryl Chamberlain had been producing special programs for Black History Month in the Sherman Texas area for about three years.  When the Chamberlain family relocated their home to Allen Texas, Chamberlain wanted to continue producing such programs in Allen.  Chamberlain envisioned an entertaining program that would use music, poetry, and folk tales to teach people about Black American history.  Chamberlain envisioned a program that would teach important messages of mutual respect and brotherhood.

Chamberlain was seeking a positive tool to address the ill effects of racism and bigotry, in the community.  The vision called for a program that would be produced at the local high school with the help of teachers and students.  The program would reach across the various departments to utilize the talents of singers, musicians, drama students and others.  The goal was to create a program that, while having a lot of fun, the students would also learn about Black American history.  The goal was to leave the students with positive informatioin that would help them to have an answer when faced with negative racial demagoguery.

Chamberlain shared his ideas with the former superintendent of Allen ISD.  Chamberlain was told that program was a good idea but now was not the time to pursue it. Chamberlain was disappointed hear the familiar reply, "We'll study it and get back to you."   Chamberlain shared his ideas with the McKinney high school music director who liked the idea and shared it with her husband who was then principal of McKinney high.  In February 1991, a unique program was born entitled "Let Thine Eyes See the Glory."

By this time, a lot of time had been lost pursuing the program with Allen ISD and Black History Month was just two months away.  Nevertheless, Chamberlain was determined to produce a program for Black History Month.  A production staff was assembled and brainstorming began on how to accomplish the task.  The objectives of the program were scaled back and a smaller program was developed featuring the McKinney high school choir, The North Texas Chorale (then called the Collin County Community Choir), The First Baptist Church choir, The Original King Kids from Fort Worth, and poetry readings from McKinney High school drama students.  This program became the basic guideline for The Gloryworks Experience.

The program had a modest turnout.

Chamberlain states, "If we had 100 people turn out, we had a lot of people.  I should have been dismayed.  I made a big mistake by scheduling the program on the night of a basketball game and an awards ceremony.  Some people would leave the game, watch a little of the program and then go back to the game.  They were toggling back and forth all night.  You can bet I learned from my mistakes.  The next year we got to the school calendar and made sure nothing was happening on our day.  I refocused and tripled my efforts and said next year's program will be even better."

Triple his efforts indeed!  Now with time on his side, Chamberlain reassembled his staff and began laying the foundation for Let Thine Eyes See the Glory part II in April 1991.  Allen ISD was again contacted who again stated that now was not the time.  Chamberlain was told to be patient.  Chamberlain was told that certain parents were against the idea of multicultural education and the district was wary of the success of a program featuring Black history.  McKinney high was again contacted.  McKinney High now had a new principal who, much like her predecessor, liked the idea and threw in her support 100%.

Chamberlain states, "I was really impressed when on one occasion I needed a bunch of flyers printed and didn't have time to do it.  Dr Hunter (now Dr Hunter-Wichmann) asked me if I needed  help one Saturday afternoon when I was working at the school.  I told her that I was ok but needed to get several flyers printed.  She then gathered up the masters and said leave it to me.  There was no one else in the school.  She returned with all of the copies that I needed."

The staff of McKinney High gave its full support.  Assistant principal, Mike Conroy contacted people from the community to donate time, talent, and resources.  Mike Conroy also took care of the scheduling of school facilities and custodial work and gladly helped where needed.  Mike Conroy also introduced Chamberlain to McKinney High math teacher Ella McDonald who would later become a staple in The Gloryworks Experience by performing dramatic recitations of James Weldon Johnson's poetic essay, The Creation. Her passionate rendition would get a standing ovation on the night of the program.

Many of the school departments came forward to participate.  The program had quite a cast.  The participating departments were,  the school band, the choir, the dance class, the English students wrote essays, the Black Heritage club and the drama students performed skits and poetry.  Chamberlain did not want to charge for the program and so underwrote the performance expenses of the additional groups himself.  The Original King Kids were brought back from Fort Worth along with the Collin County Community Choir, the Texas Instruments Jazz Band, the Lincoln High school choir, and professional storyteller Gene Helmick-Richardson.

To add further highlight to the program, Chamberlain created four busts that were presented to the public for the first time.   The busts were depictions of Dr Martin Luther King, Malcom X, Sojourner Truth, and Joseph Cinque.  These busts were later to become the core of The Gloryworks Experience.  Each bust was presented at a specific time during the program while Chamberlain gave a brief biography.

"On the night of the program, I was afraid to look through the curtain and see that only a hundred people showed up.  I wouldn't look." Chamberlain states, " People were telling me that whites would not be interested in black history.  Someone grabbed me and said take a look.  I peeked from behind the curtain and nearly fainted. In an auditorium of 600 seats, we had a packed house!"  

After the program, the sculptures took on a life of their own.  Schools and churches were asking Chamberlain to bring the busts to their facilities and tell their exciting stories.  Chamberlain was surprised to find that through the busts, he could tell an exciting story of Black American history in a way that would not be possible otherwise.  Moreover, Chamberlain stayed committed to his original purpose to use the busts to teach human understanding and mutual respect.  Other busts and art were created and a new and innovative program was born.  A name was needed which was derived from the parent program, Let Thine Eyes See the Glory.  The Gloryworks Lecture Series was chosen but was later changed to The Gloryworks Experience.

Chamberlain developed an effective guideline for the program by which history was to be told.  The Gloryworks program would use the history of Black Americans to teach human respect and understanding.  Its goal would be to work towards minimizing or eliminating racism, bigotry and prejudice while teaching history in an inoffensive manner.  The program would focus on issues where Americans both white and black have worked together to solve problems dealing with injustice in America.   Chamberlain embraces his audience while speaking and says we're going to look back together.

Ella McDonald continued to travel with The Gloryworks Experience as her schedule allowed.  Her passionate rendition of The Creation which was set to music by Chamberlain was a show stopper that would bring audiences to their feet.  She traveled with The Gloryworks Experience to Kansas City Missouri to present the poetic essay to the Internal Revenue Service.  The officials at the IRS were so excited about the program that talks began about using The Gloryworks Experience as part of their diversity training.  Other organizations such as North Texas University and the Federal Deposit and Insurance Corp got excited about The Gloryworks Experience and scheduled presentations.  Today, The Gloryworks Experience continues to be displayed in schools, churches, and businesses in the Midwestern State area.  The Gloryworks Exeperience receives hundreds of letters each year which support the success and importance of the program.

Today, The Gloryworks mission remains intact.  The Gloryworks Experience extracts lessons from history to teach respect and human understanding.  Its focus is to use these lessons to eliminate or minimize the effects of racism and bigotry.  Gloryworks is committed to teach these lessons in a comfortable and inoffensive manner without distorting history.

Chamberlain states "History is tool that we use to improve our present and prevent mistakes in the future.  If we can't look back and learn, there is no need to look back.  In addressing African-American history, many educators failed to realize that there was much to learn that could help us in our modern struggles.  I try to help them identify those elements that can be of benefit.

Yes, it is idealistic to say that we can eliminate racism in our lifetime.  But when I look at the many people in history who have changed the course of humanity, they also started with a simple idea.  To me, it is exciting that history may one day record us as a people who rose above their own selfishness and placed brotherhood and support of humanity as their most important endeavor."