Please support our programs

The Life, Death, and Rebirth of ACORN

Listen:

Never miss a show! @ symbol icon Email Signup Spotify Logo Spotify RSS Feed Apple Podcasts

ACORN members march in front of the U.S. Treasury, March 11 2008. Photo by Flickr user onlinecampaigns.

It took 40 years to build ACORN, the national community organization which at its peak had more than half a million members.  But it took just a few months to bring it down.  Now, local organizers are trying to rebuild from the ground up, while not forgetting the lessons they learned.  On this edition, the assassination of ACORN.  And a look at how the groups’ absence is affecting elections, poverty, and the continuing housing crisis?

Special thanks to Demos, and to Race, Poverty & the Environment.

Featuring:

Steve Kest, former ACORN executive director; John Atlas, author of ‘Seeds of Change’, the Story of ACORN, America’s Most Controversial Anti-Poverty Community Organizing Group; Annie McKinzie & Bill Chorneau, former ACORN Oakland members; Bertha Lewis, former ACORN CEO and chief organizer; Morris Hilter, Denise Hilton, Travis, ACORN Tampa members; John McCain, US Senator; Ina Gutierrez, Interfaith Worker Justice deputy director of operations; Tasha Alberty, Oakland homeowner facing foreclosure; Martha Daniels, Oakland ACORN organizer; Vivian Richardson, San Francisco homeowner facing foreclosure; Grace Martinez, San Francisco ACCE community organizer; Nealie Yarbrough, Ian Haddow, San Francisco ACCE members.

— WEB EXCLUSIVES —

ACORN Descendents Keep Their Traditions, While Fighting Foreclosures

As the 2009 ACORN scandal quickly unfolded and funding started to dry up, the groups’ members and organizers had to jump ship.  Many formed new local, or statewide groups, that maintained the commitment to have low-income people in positions of leadership, and make their own decisions.  There’s the Texas organizing project.  Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment. New England United for Justice  And in California, as Jen Chien reports, the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment has taken on foreclosure defense as one of their primary issues.

The Story of ACORN: A 40-Year History of Community Organizing

Bertha Lewis Keynote Address at 2012 California State of the Region Conference

For More Information:

Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE)
Texas Organizing Project Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment
New England United for Justice
John Atlas
Seeds of Change: The Story of ACORN, America’s Most Controversial Antipoverty Community Organizing Group by John Atlas
The People Shall Rule: ACORN, Community Organizing, and the Struggle for Economic Justice
Demos Race, Poverty and the Environment
Wade Rathke: Chief Organizer Blog
Interfaith Worker Justice

Articles/Blogs/Videos/Audio:

The fall of ACORN: A timeline – The Week Can Obama Win Without ACORN? – Molly Ball – The Atlantic Who Needs ACORN? Anti-ACORN Messages Threaten Staff and Obama (AUDIO)

Karl Rove Loses Election After Being Checkmated By Cyber Sleuths
http://occupyforaccountability.org/index.php?q=node/1075

MUSIC:

Gastr Del Sol, “Mouth Canyon” Gastr Del Sol, “Dry Bones in the valley” John Beltran, “Collage of Dreams” Aphex Twin, “Cliffs”

Author: admin

Share This Post On