Think Cultural appropriation’s bad? Try Cultural misappropriation and see how the hell you feel…

Deb C.🇵🇸💚
3 min readOct 12, 2022

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How “Come by ya” became “Kumbaya” — and other white fuckery

This, is a serious nit I need to pick, more with my Black Fam than white folk (since stealing and distorting our culture often, and even with our help, is the norm — especially these days). But you guys? You non-boulé folk who’ve not been compromised? SOME of you should know, or at least learn better. And the rest of y’all boulé folk — cut this shit out!

“Come By Ya” (in the Gullah patois of my birth) is in NO WAY a feel-good, folk “camp song” born of some African language (well it wasn’t until white folk chose to steal and rework it that way, that is) — nor is it this JOKE of a touchy-feely, white misappropriation they like to throw around, based on their own white fuckery.

Come By Ya” was a F*CKIN’ LAMENT of the enslaved Black folk of the Georgia and South Carolina Sea Islands. It was a pained entreaty, a cry for help — TO.WHITE.JESUS (with whom they’d been deeply indoctrinated) — for spiritual, physical and emotional rescue, from the HORRORS inflicted upon them by those same Bible-thumpin’, so-called Christian, white folk, who’d brought them to Him in the first place!

I’m here to tell you Fam — indoctrination soaked in naked terror really works!

I was born and raised in Charleston, SC 66 seasons ago. My family are Gullah people…

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Deb C.🇵🇸💚
Deb C.🇵🇸💚

Written by Deb C.🇵🇸💚

Former Navy Russian linguist, Realtor, Claims Adjuster, OpEd columnist/Features writer at a small, S. Florida newspaper. Since 2007, blogged at “Let’s Be Clear”