Marlena Smalls is an American educator and musician of Gullah origin.
[5] Five years later, she formed the Hallelujah Singers to preserve the Gullah culture of the Sea Islands of South Carolina.
[4][6] The group has been designated a Local Legacy of South Carolina by the Library of Congress.
[9] After divorcing, Smalls relocated from Dayton, Ohio,[9] to Beaufort, South Carolina, with her six children in 1982.
[9] She and her mother (who grew up in Honea Path, South Carolina)[9] also established the Lowcountry School for Music, where they provided piano and vocals lessons to students in the Beaufort area.