Kumbaya

An African-American spiritual originating among the Gullah people of the Sea Islands off South Carolina and Georgia. The title "Kumbaya" translates to "Come by Here" in Gullah dialect, a creole language that maintained many African linguistic elements due to the relative isolation of these communities. The song is a prayer for divine intervention and help for those in need, particularly amid suffering and oppression. The first known recording was made in 1926 by folklorist Robert Winslow Gordon, featuring an individual identified only as "H. Wylie" singing in the Gullah dialect. The spiritual gained broader recognition during the folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s and became an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement.