CORA, a voice for justice in the mountains
Last Friday, October 13, a group of 50 grassroots leaders gathered in Ripley, West Virginia to reflect on the rich history of the Commission on Religion in Appalachia, or CORA.
The assembled faith activists came to celebrate CORA's 41 years of serving as a powerful, Christian voice for justice in the mountains. But they also decided, after four decades of service and speaking truth to power, that it was time to close their doors.
CORA was founded in 1965 as a home for a broad range of Appalachian Christians to band together and mobilize church support for labor, civil rights, environmental protection, and other vital causes. Their slogan came from Amos 5:23-24, "Let justice roll down like waters," and their mission was "to express God's love through the empowerment of the people of Appalachia by working for justice."
As progressives today try to "find religion," they would do well to study the history of groups like CORA, who acted on the natural connection they saw between their progressive values and their beliefs of faith. They rooted and nurtured the connection between their faith and political beliefs not through abstract "values debates," but in the day-to-day work of addressing the concerns of ordinary people, from failing schools to mountaintop removal and dangerous working conditions.
At their celebration and farewell meeting, the group wrote a Last Will and Testament, most of which I've excerpted below. It's a moving eulogy to an important piece of Southern progressive history, which hopefully will inspire those working for change in the future.
A Last Will and Testament for the Commission on Religion in Appalachia
"Let justice roll down like waters." (Amos 5:23-24)
Perhaps it's a tale woven in the fabric of the mountains. Some say the Appalachian Mountains are the oldest mountain range on the face of the planet. In this context, the forty-year life span of the Commission on Religion in Appalachia compares to looking up from the top of a high peak and watching a comet flash by. To the lives impacted, the Commission on Religion in Appalachia, affectionately known as CORA, has served as a forty-year sojourn lighting the way to justice.
"Let justice roll down like waters." With the cry of the Biblical prophet Amos, "Let justice
roll down like waters," CORA has engaged the faith community with the people of the
Appalachian Mountains. Marching side by side with the mission "to express God's love in the empowerment of the people of Appalachia by working for justice", time and time again the prophetic voice of the prophet Micah has been proclaimed from the hilltops to the deepest hollows -- "What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God."
"Let justice roll down like waters." To confront the structural causes of injustice, CORA has channeled seed money to the region from the churches, through its Appalachian Development Projects Coalition (ADPC), giving birth or support to numerous organizations - such as the Federation of Appalachian Housing Enterprise and the Appalachian Ministries Educational Resource Center in Kentucky, the Virginia Black Lung Association, the Southern Empowerment Project in Tennessee, and Stop Abusive Family Environments in West Virginia.
"Let justice roll down like waters." As people of faithful conscience, CORA declared "we have a responsibility to dismantle the racism that has been built into our organizations and our communities." The Anti-Racism Team set out on this difficult but necessary mission.
"Let justice roll down like waters." In response to the need for improved housing, CORA established a volunteer program bringing work teams to the region from churches across America. While houses where being refurbished, the gift was reciprocal and the volunteers returned home with a renewed understanding and affection for the people of the mountains.
"Let justice roll down like waters." CORA activities and achievements have extended to battles with the mountain-top removers and the coal companies who abused those at work digging deep into the mountains. Public policy and even globalization has caught CORA's attention.
"Let justice roll down like waters." The memories are lasting, the sentiments, ever-flowing, the relationships, binding; the need for justice in Appalachia still cries like Rachel weeping for her children, and now, the CORA sojourn of forty years is ending -- ending because the denominational pool of money is fading -- ending because the organizational internal mechanisms are waning -- ending because CORA courageously believes it has the responsibility to take the steps for the future of the mission of justice and hope for Appalachia.
"Let justice roll down like waters." Likened unto some of our forbearers of history, CORA
rises to declare this document as its "last will and testament." In CORA's ending, we know
that the God of justice is ultimately in charge of the spirit of hope and justice in Appalachia.
As faithful stewards we pray for and will the rebirth of the mission of CORA to the region as a
new sojourn. For we can already see rising from the valley a fertile spark. [...]
"Let justice roll down like waters." We will that CORA's story be held both in the hearts of
the people of Appalachia as it is recorded in the archives of the University of Kentucky.
Someday, when an inquisitive mind asks, "how did that great accomplishment happen?" let it be said, by a wise one, "oh, that was another CORA initiative that has lived on throughout these Appalachian Mountains."
And the people said "Let justice roll down like waters."
Signed by the Commission and Board and friends of CORA on October 13, 2006.
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Chris Kromm
Chris Kromm is executive director of the Institute for Southern Studies and publisher of the Institute's online magazine, Facing South.