Don't Mourn—Fact Check | Sojourners

Don't Mourn—Fact Check

Letter to the Editors

I am reading the March issue of Sojourners and want to correct a small error in “‘Do Not Grow Weary or Lose Heart,’” by Vincent Harding. The quote “Don’t mourn. Organize,” attributed to Mother Jones in the article, was actually an admonition from Wobbly songwriter Joe Hill—born Joseph Hillstrom—shortly before his execution in Utah on trumped-up murder charges that were designed to cripple the labor movement. Mother Jones’ most famous admonition was “Raise more hell, and less corn,” given to the miners in West Virginia, urging them to demonstrate more and drink less.

—John Patterson
Harbor Springs, Michigan

This appears in the May 2012 issue of Sojourners