Bassett High School celebrated Black History Month through the arts with performances by the Bassett High School Choir, Gospel Choir, and Dance Club. The program, titled “Hear My Prayer,” featured choral pieces arranged by Moses Hogan as well as readings from prominent figures in Black history.
The evening’s theme was woven throughout the performances and emphasized in the keynote speech delivered by Garrett Dillard, who represents the Iriswood District on the Henry County Board of Supervisors. Dillard shared three prayers for the community and the world.
“My first prayer is that we hold ourselves and our circle of friends more accountable. I pray that we look within first before we blame anyone else,” Dillard said. “I pray that we make the necessary changes so that we can live our best life. We all need to self-reflect. Look at self. Ask yourself, ‘How can I be a better version of me?’”
He added that self-improvement requires action and support. Once we ask this question, we should apply these changes, find people in our circle to hold us accountable, and possibly change our circle to people who will help us be the best we can be, he said.
Dillard’s second prayer focused on love and self-worth.
“My second prayer is that we learn to truly love our neighbor as we love ourselves,” he said, stressing that self-love is essential. “Sometimes we can treat other folk bad because we treat ourselves bad… We must first love ourselves.”
He explained that loving oneself means presenting oneself with dignity and decency. “As we learn to love ourselves, we can better love our neighbor, and we can have a more loving world.”
Dillard’s third prayer called for creating a better community and future for the next generation.
“I pray that we end hatred and racism. I pray that we stop letting political leaders use their authority to promote hatred and racism,” he said. He reminded the audience that children are deeply affected by the actions of adults.
“Let’s stop causing so much trauma within our kids,” he said. “And then they become adults, and they’re trying to get over the trauma. They can’t sleep—anxiety, ADHD, depression—because of the trauma that we created.”
Dillard urged the community to “let children be children.” He emphasized the importance of setting expectations while avoiding unnecessary pressure. “We still need to hold them to expectations, (but) stop putting unnecessary pressure on our children.
He closed each of his prayers with a call to action: “Hear my prayer, have faith, take action.”
Choir director Larry Hylton, who organized the program, said he was inspired by the realization that Bassett High School had never held a Black History Month celebration in its 90-year history.
“This was a first. I had a vision. I knew that it was going to be a daunting task, but it all just sort of came together,” he said. “I just had this vision of readers and music and community and a sense of unity, and so I wanted to bring all of that together in one place.”
Hylton emphasized the importance of exposing the community to Black history and bringing people together.
“The community has been starved,” he said. “Whether they know it or not, they’ve been starved of the stories of African Americans, they’ve been starved of the music of African Americans… I wanted the community to come together. And I just thought Black history was a way to bring people from all walks of life together.”
Hylton highlighted the deep connection and relationship between Black history and the arts, particularly music.
“There’s no denying the contributions of Black Americans to music and the arts,” he said. “So, I wanted to highlight that but also make it accessible to everyone, without offending anyone and just introducing them to the art form of the spiritual.”
He hoped the audience left with both inspiration and a greater awareness of the power of justice.
“I hope they learned something, especially from (Dillard) about taking action and standing up for justice,” he said. “I think that at the end of the day, if justice reigns, then all else will be good. Everything else will fall in place with the right justice.”
The event featured choir performances of songs arranged by Moses Hogan and a dance presentation by the Bassett High School Dance Club to “Stand Up!” by Cynthia Erivo.
