Marlena Smalls | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ohio, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Central State University |
| Occupations | Educator and musician |
| Known for | Founder and director of the Hallelujah Singers |
Marlena Smalls is an American educator and musician of Gullah origin. [1] She is the founder and director of the Hallelujah Singers.
Smalls was born in Ohio, United States, to parents from South Carolina, [2] one of their eight children. [3] She attended Central State University in Ohio. [4]
In 1984, Smalls founded the Gullah Festival in Beaufort, South Carolina. [1] Five years later, she formed the Hallelujah Singers to preserve the Gullah culture of the Sea Islands of South Carolina. [4] [5] The group has been designated a Local Legacy of South Carolina by the Library of Congress. [6]
Smalls played the mother of Bubba in the 1994 film Forrest Gump . [4] [7]
She retired from touring and performing in 2024. [8]
After divorcing, Smalls relocated from Dayton, Ohio, [8] to Beaufort, South Carolina, with her six children in 1982. [7] [3] She began working as Arts Coordinator for the City of Beaufort. [8] She and her mother (who grew up in Honea Path, South Carolina) [8] also established the Lowcountry School for Music, where they provided piano and vocals lessons to students in the Beaufort area. They had almost two hundred students in their early years. [3] The parents of some of her students became the original version of the Hallelujah Singers. [1]
Smalls was inducted into the South Carolina Black Hall of Fame in 2004. She received an honorary doctorate from the University of South Carolina. [8]
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