It's time to sing; Agapeland Christian Academy children prepare for performances

Jan. 28—The children of Agapeland Christian Academy took their places near a makeshift stage in a small auditorium that also serves as the cafeteria for the African-American-based private school of 64 students, kindergarten through 5th grade.

The kids, on Thursday afternoon, belted out the Black National Anthem, practicing the song also known as "Lift Every Voice and Sing," under the direction of Terra Johnson, the executive director who also teaches kindergarten.

Johnson, who grew up at Agapeland's church, Compassion Christian Center, has a beautiful voice from all her singing at church services and performances, and she encourages the children to sing with the same passion, with soul.

"Ya gotta hit it," she shouted while she paused the children's singing to encourage them to hit the right note.

The ACA students plan to hit it when they open GospelFest on Feb. 1 at Cal State Bakersfield's Dore Theater, which could be the first of several bookings for them.

Last year, they performed the Black National Anthem at eight events during Black History Month in February. This year they have GospelFest, which is a celebration of performances in honor of Black History Month. Johnson expects more performances to come. She calls it their "tour."

When people ask them to sing at their event, she doesn't turn them down because she said it's the academy's way of giving back to the community.

For the children it's about hitting the right notes. They know the song well. They sing it, as well as "The Star Spangled Banner," before school begins each day, Johnson said.

The kids are not shy about being in the spotlight. They enjoy singing and didn't falter even with news media snapping photos and recording video during Thursday's practice.

"When I practice I feel happy that I even get to sing," said 8-year-old Tyler Johnson.

The Agapeland children have learned to appreciate practices.

"Every time you sing you always get better," 8-year-old Rhyan Trapp said.

Just last month, the school's children performed a Christmas play at Fox Theater. They moved to the Fox Theater after they had been such a big draw at South High for several years, Johnson said.

Before going on stage, Johnson reminded them about all the famous musicians who have performed at Fox to motivate them.

There are no sports teams at Agapeland, however, Johnson and each teacher are referred to as "Coach."

"We coach them in life," Johnson said. "We believe that our children can excel in everything they do."

Johnson added because the teachers have so much confidence in the kids they want to give them a grand overview of their potential with singing performances as well as field trips.

Soon, they will be going on a skiing trip. They've already been to a Los Angeles Lakers game and went to SoFi Stadium for a Los Angeles Rams game.

RyiLee Dixon, 9, smiled when she was asked what she likes about Agapeland.

"I like it because it's different from public schools," she said.

Johnson is passionate about her role. Her parents, Pastor Martha Johnson and the late Pastor Ted Johnson, founded Compassion Christian Center, which now has her brother-in-law Roland Banks and her sister Marisa Banks as pastors. Martha was pastor of the church for over 25 years after her husband passed and she is now retired.

Terra Johnson's 24-year-old niece Reigna Banks is a teacher at Agapeland Christian Academy, which opened in 1989. Johnson is hopeful the school will add sixth-graders and sports teams.

For now, she's all about preparing the kids for life and for performances such as the one at GospelFest.

Terra Johnson loves to sing, as she did when she was growing up in her church. A Highland High alumna, she attended Thorner Elementary, where she first performed as "Annie."

Her singing talent has come naturally, as she said she never really had any formal vocal training.

"You know how it is when you're born and raised in the church," she said. "You just have to learn all aspects of it."

She's excited about February, not just because of the performances but also because the children learn more about Black history.

"When I think of Black History Month I think about everyone before us that paved the way so that our students can have the benefits that they have and the freedoms that are now natural and normal to them," she said after being asked her first thoughts about February. "I think about the sacrifices that were made so that we can have these freedoms that we enjoy today."

Demyan Porter, 10, who is the 4th-and-5th-grade class representative, said Black History Month reminds him of segregation and used as an example when African Americans were forced to drink from a different water fountain. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended segregation.

"I'm happy we were freed," he said.