Tag: Community Organizing
Remembering fresh eyes to horrible situations
by Wade Rathke April 30, 2021 New Orleans – We were lucky on our work to launch the ACORN Tenants Union in Atlanta to have a bunch of serious and committed young apprentice organizers with us…
Rights defenders decry advancement of Oklahoma anti-protest bills
‘The OK Legislature Wants Us Dead’ The head of the state’s ACLU accused Oklahoma lawmakers of “attempting to silence the voices of their constituents and criminalize vital calls for accountability and racial justice.” by Brett Wilkins,…
Anne Fenney
by Wade Rathke February 8, 2021 Pearl River I didn’t know Anne Fenney, but I stayed in her house. I’m not sure how that counts in degrees of separation, but I would mark it as pretty…
Little “d” democracy in action
by Wade Rathke February 7, 2021 Pearl River There’s no question democracy is under attack all around the world, and, sadly, we are all engaged in a battle to protect the semblance of it that’s…
Leading digital rights group warns section 230 reform bill will boost Big Tech while crushing smaller sites
“This bill, as written, would have enormous unintended consequences for human rights and freedom of expression,” warned Fight for the Future’s Evan Greer. by Brett Wilkins, staff writer Saturday, February 6, 2021 A leading digital rights…
Living with natural gas pipelines: Appalachian landowners describe fear, anxiety and loss
Some reported never hearing about a planned pipeline until a “land man” – a gas company representative – knocked on their door offering to buy a slice of their property; others said that they found out…
Organizing in the Year of the Plague
by Wade Rathke January 28, 2021 New Orleans The Year End / Year Begin meeting is a tradition and vital piece of planning, reflection, and celebration with our ACORN family of organizations. This one was…
Crowd chaos underlines differences in Instigators versus Organizers
by Wade Rathke January 19, 2021 Pearl River The post-mortem on the Capitol mob scene has been bizarrely interesting from an organizing perspective. A lot of it has been more about name-calling than analysis. This…
Capitol Police asleep at the switch
by Wade Rathke Friday, January 8, 2021 New Orleans One of the late-night comedians noted that these early resignations from White House staff and cabinet officers with less than two weeks before Biden’s inauguration are…
Celebrate, but keep it real, here come the Congressional Mod Squad
by Wade Rathke Wednesday, January 6, 2021 New Orleans Victories have a thousand fathers and defeats are orphan children, or something like that. ACORN, the Voter Purge Project, and Labor Neighbor are glad to count…
Doing our part in Georgia, ground game pays off
by Wade Rathke January 5, 2021 New Orleans The double-barreled Senate runoff in Georgia has been something to watch, and even more interesting on the ground, as our team found doing our part to assure…
I never thought Democrats could win Georgia. Could it happen twice?
The critical Senate run-off race is too close to call. But a massive voter mobilization effort may just tip the balance. by Mary Fitzgerald Sunday, January 3, 2021 My mother was 23 when she accidentally got…
Black Lives Matter, the Tides Foundation, and the future
by Wade Rathke December 28, 2020 Pearl River The Black Lives Matter movement erupted after the killing of George Floyd, as demonstrations, perhaps as many as 8500, occurred throughout the country and the world. BLM,…
Congress crams language to criminalize online streaming, meme-sharing into 5,500-page omnibus bill
“These types of decisions should never be made in closed-door negotiations between politicians and industry or rushed through as part of some must-pass spending package.” by Kenny Stancil, staff writer Monday, December 21, 2020 Lawmakers in…
Homeless squatters vs. gentrifiers
by Wade Rathke December 21, 2020 Pearl River Congress passed a skinny stimulus bill for $900 billion to win the “better than nothing” award for 2020. Whoopee! The bill does promise a bit of cash…
New York City protects fast food workers
by Wade Rathke December 18, 2020 Atlanta The New York City Council passed two ordinances that could open the door to a new era of job protection for some of the most precarious workers in the…
On the Doors in Atlanta
by Wade Rathke December 15, 2020 Atlanta The Electoral College licked the envelope and sealed the deal on Joe Biden’s victory for Donald Trump to become the next President of the United States with 306 votes…
The non-profit depression?
by Wade Rathke December 14, 2020 Atlanta A boatload of money is being spent in the Georgia election runoff for the two remaining US Senate seats. Estimates range from $350 to $500 million by the…
A radio lesson from the ACLU in NOLa DA’s race
by Wade Rathke December 6, 2020 Pearl River The 2020 election season isn’t quite over, as the Senate runoff in Georgia proves, but that’s not the only place where there are key runoffs. In New Orleans,…
Colorado high school students post video pleading with local authorities to ban fracking
“We shouldn’t be afraid for our health when we step outside our own houses,” says one of the students in the video. by Brett Wilkins, staff writer Tuesday, December 1, 2020 Students at a Colorado high…
Years of grassroots organizing forged Biden’s Georgia win
Atlanta, often called the “cradle of the civil rights movement,” was the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr. and made up much of the congressional district represented by the late John Lewis. The story behind how…
Low-income voters showed up for Biden. Now they need relief.
People didn’t turn out in record numbers in a pandemic to vote for a return to normal. By Sarah Anderson, Margot Rathke November 12, 2020 Joe Biden is headed to the White House, and he has…
Georgia, ground zero for the Senate
by Wade Rathke November 13, 2020 Atlanta It took five hours and half a tank of gas for me and two organizers for the ACORN Tenants Union in Atlanta to visit more than a dozen apartment…
Biden given roadmap to revitalize rural America
The plan “lays a foundation for bringing economic vitality to rural communities in the face of racial injustice, economic decline, climate change, and a devastating pandemic.” by Kenny Stancil, staff writer Friday, November 13 Family Farm…
