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"H" is for the Hallelujah Singers

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"H" is for the Hallelujah Singers, a nationally-recognized performance troupe offering unique cultural programming by preserving, performing, and celebrating the rich heritage of the Sea Island Gullah culture. Organized as a vocal ensemble by MarlenaSmalls in 1990 and based in Beaufort, the group promotes Gullah culture through song, story, dance, and dramatic performance. The group has developed programs that combine storytelling and Gullah music—a music form steeped in a rich African American spiritual tradition. The singers have traveled extensively throughout the United States and have three professional recordings to its credit, including Gullah: Carry Me Home. MarlenaSmalls and the Hallelujah Singers have been recognized for their commitment to the presentation and advocacy of Gullah culture. The Library of Congress, as part of its bicentennial celebration, designated the Hallelujah Singers a “Local Legacy of South Carolina.”

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.