On Feb. 23, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the keynote at Carnegie Hall to honor the 100th birthday of W.E.B. Du Bois. In his speech, he identified the primary obstacle to freedom: a “poisonous fog of lies.” This fog was a deliberate myth of inferiority, designed to make the “brutality and criminality” of racism easy for the American conscience to bear.
King’s message was a tribute to the man who saw those lies and made it his life’s mission to undo them. Du Bois understood that the “keystone” in the arch of oppression was the myth of inferiority, and he dedicated his brilliance to demolishing it.
As members of Cornelius Corps, we are the modern-day “tireless explorers of social truths.” When we go into churches to help them understand the plight of Black and Brown non-Whites, we are not just sharing “perspectives”—we are engaging in the same surgical dismantling of the fog that Du Bois pioneered. But as we know, dismantling a “keystone” is dangerous work. It creates friction. It invites pushback.
The other night, I heard Eddie Glaude Jr. speak about the necessity to keep going despite the weight of our current moment and Lord, those moments are many. It is easy to look at the setbacks in our country and feel a heavy, bone-deep exhaustion. But exhaustion is not a luxury we have. We do not have time to be tired. We must do this work with courage even in the presence of fear. King reminded us that Du Bois was “undaunted by obstacles and repression.” He didn’t wait for the fear to leave him; he moved forward because the truth was more important than his comfort. He confronted the establishment. Du Bois recognized the truth of his time; King, delivering that message, spoke the truth of his. They both saw the obstacles ahead, yet they both kept going. Following in their footsteps, we must keep going for the sake of the generations to come. We carry this mantle not just for our own satisfaction, but for the children who deserve to grow up in a world where the “fog” has been cleared, and the truth has set them free.
The setbacks we see today are the “myth-makers” trying to rebuild the walls Du Bois spent ninety years tearing down. They want us to retreat into passive satisfaction, but our calling requires a “divine dissatisfaction.” We are not stopping! It is not enough for people to be angry—the supreme task is to organize and unite people through a radical, disciplined Love, so that our anger becomes a transforming force. Anger may fuel the start, but Love sustains the journey. We are partially liberated, but the fight remains. Let us not be weary. We carry the “gift of truth” into every space we enter, and with that truth, a fierce Love that seeks the liberation of all and a courage that refuses to yield, our victory is surer.
Adrienne Reedy
Cornelius Corps Board Chair