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Defending Bertha Lewis and the ACORN organization.
The organization known as ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) is around forty years old. It emerged from the 1960s era, when battles over civil rights issues were waged on the frontlines everyday. It’s an offshoot from the National Welfare Rights Organization (NWRO), which by 1966 had around 170 member-groups in at least 60 cities all over the USA. The objectives here were to protect, edify, organize and empower the poor and working class people of this country; amongst other things. By 1972, ACORN was already up and running for a couple years, while getting itself involved in the politics of Little Rock, Arkansas. Who can forget Little Rock as it relates to civil rights history? Today, ACORN still fights for poor people and the working class. They do a decent job in this regard. For full disclosure sake, let me say that I first joined ACORN many many moons ago; but I haven’t paid membership dues in years, so I don’t really consider myself a member anymore. Activism has taken me in different directions over the years, but my spirit is down with their struggles. Occasionally I still get e-mails from the organization, and on and off I get invites to political events. I have always maintained civil and cordial relations with Brooklyn’s Bertha Lewis and Gloria Waldron -who are high officials of the organization. I totally respect them. I also respect what their organization stands for, since it does so much good: especially in the areas of community development, political education, consumer-protection, housing and landlord/tenant issues. As an organization, ACORN was on the battlefront in the recent fight to keep Brooklyn’s Starrett City, affordable for middle and working-class folks. I have worked ACORN on many a political campaign over the years, and I have been able to observe their operation in other areas too. Politically speaking; they do multi-task. I didn’t agree with Bertha’s position on the Atlantic Yards development project; nor did I care to see her sucking face with Mike Bloomberg (lol) a few years ago. But then she is human, and we all do make mistakes. Backing Bruce Ratner’s project -the way it was shaped then- was not Bertha’s shining moment. She probably knows this by now. And of course I didn’t agree with her support for the “out of control” senator (Kevin Parker) from Flatbush, last September. And yet I am forced to defend her from these nonsensical attacks from the Republicans, as it relates to Acorn’s recent voter registration initiatives in certain parts of the country. You see, there is no election fraud here. That’s a misnomer. There is a big difference between voter-registration fraud and election fraud. When Acorn hires people to work on voter registration drives for them, sometimes they get lowlife types to do the grunt work. Often enough, some of these people arrive without integrity and pride. So it is easy to see how some will fill out “Mickey Mouse” on the voter registration card, since the incentive is usually to turn in as many registration forms as you could: and collect. Many times, some of these low-life types inadvertently get paid for shoddy work. Sometimes the forms are unfinished and/or erroneously filled out. Other times, they are sloppily written, indiscernible, mistake-laden, and the like. There is no overarching conspiracy in all this; contrary to Republican talking heads. Whenever ACORN spots these and other patterns of registration-irregularities, they usually report the culprits to the authorities for punishment. This has been documented and proven over the years. By law, ACORN has to turn in voter registration forms. Some people have gone to jail for doing illegal stuff during registration drives. This is a fact; go check it. Beyond some quality-control issues for which the organization must take responsibility, ACORN should not be vilified for human weaknesses. It diminishes a very good organization; albeit an imperfect one. Obtaining contracts (and money) to do voter registration projects is one way in which ACORN survives; there is nothing wrong with this. Of course there will be times when clients are dissatisfied with some of these projects; this happens everyday in the business world; far less in the world of ACORN. You see this organization deals with many of the downtrodden folks that mainstream society has given up on; so is it any wonder that every now and again things don’t work out as well as they should? Election-fraud and/or Election Day fraud are totally different beasts, when compared to the errors and mistakes of a registration drive. Once someone votes more than one time, or votes under another name, or votes from different addresses, with similar or different names, and the like: all or any of these constitute election-fraud. Also, if someone who is ineligible to vote (like an illegal alien; or a citizen who is convicted of a felony and is still serving out a sentence), manages to cast a ballot: that too is election fraud. Voting in different states on the same day will also come under this heading. I am sure that there are other technical ways of discerning election-fraud, but I am also certain that you catch my drift: there is a difference between voter-fraud and voter registration mistakes. There is also a difference between election-fraud and the many shenanigans that take place throughout an election cycle. None should be taken lightly, but it’s par for the course; it’s just that some are more serious violations than others. There is no discernible proof that ACORN has been involved in voter fraud. There isn’t a sliver of proof that ACORN has conspired to rig this upcoming election. There is no sliver of proof that ACORN has ever indulged in fixing the outcome of any election before; so why cast the aspersions on their good name? ACORN has been involved in thousands of election events over their many years in activism. Trying to get more people participating in the democratic process is good work. ACORN should be commended not condemned. They are doing what educators failed to do in the public and private schools: inculcate a deeper sense of civic awareness in the polity. The failure to re-introduce “civics” on a higher level -within the educational system of this country -has cost us dearly, in terms of civic, social, cultural and political participation. These costs are immeasurable. ACORN is to be applauded for its work(s) over the years; it is time to stop casting aspersions on a decent organization. Stay tuned-in folks.
 Thanks Manny. However I must say that you have missed more than 100 other columns/lol. Click on my photo and go into my archives. Thanks for the kind sentiments.
rock thanks for this post, I have been trying to defend Acorn on some other sites from various right wingers who are taking McCain's lead and comparing them to the mafia or something. Acorn does good work, but like any number of other groups where they hire people and pay them based on productivity, you are going to see some people doing unsavory things just to make a buck. when you ask people to stand on corners with clipboards and pay them based on who signs the clipboard, you are going to get people cheating the system. This is like the local petitioning process. We have all stood on street corners on bitter cold nights collecting signatures. Some people turn in honestly obtained signatures. Others will do it fraudulently. It is why you have people verifying petition signatures. But does the now and again obviously forged green petition sheet mean the entire petition process in this city is corrupt? Of course not. Acorn needs to do a better job IMO of presenting/documenting its own history. Otherwise right wing groups will distort everything it does just like they have done plenty of other groups over the years. Just like four years ago the Bush people villianized Move On and Act Up, two groups of the best intentioned people, simply because not enough people knew who they were, so they could.
 Um.....I've read many of your posts over the years Rock. My saying that this was one of your best implies that :-) Manny Burgos, Thanks Manny. I didn't know/LOL.I somehow felt that you were a recent addition to Room Eight. I am glad to see that I am wrong and that you have been with us for a while. WALLNER: I concur. Thanks for the comments.
According to The Tablet, the paper of the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens, ACORN has been cut off from funds from the Catholic Church by the U.S. Council of Bishops. The reason, per the Tablet, has nothing to do with this particular situation. It is due to the discovery that one of its top officers had embezzled over $1 million.
"The suspsension covers all 40 ACORN affiliates nattionwide that had been approved for $1.13 million in grants for the funding cycle that started July 1, 2008. McCloud said the suspension came soon after his office learned that ACORN disclosed that Dale Rathke, the brother of ACORN founder Wake Rathke, had embezzled nearly $1 million from the organization and its affiliates in 1999 and 2000." He has since stepped down. Ironically, we used to donate directly to Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens, but shifted our donations to other service organizations several years back when we read in the newspaper that one of their staff was caught embezzeling the charity money. (The fact that virtually no one else donated to the organization, which relies on public money and money from the Bishop's office, was also a factor).
Can you trust ANYONE in charge of ANYTHING in this frigging country? (World?) ACORN is a minor symptom of a big problem. When you have major parties and big money sending all this money down the pipelines, you will get registration fraud. As for election fraud, see tahaka robinson.
Individual people have been registered over 50 times by ACORN. Did the dead people rise up and 'mistakenly' join the voter drive? Gime me a break. ACORN is crooked and they're caught. Let it be a lesson to anyone and everyone counting on fraudulent votes on the 4th. Donna Brazile posted a commentary on the ACORN voter registration issue. It's good reading and puts the issue in good perspective. Click here to read it. Below is an excerpt from her commentary: The so-called ACORN scandal is no more than a few canvassers trying to meet their quota and make easy money by cheating the system. Ask yourself how likely is it that someone would go through the effort and risk of submitting multiple false registration forms, find an accomplished forger capable of producing IDs of sufficient quality to trick election officials, and then spend Election Day racking up a couple extra votes at the potential cost of spending a decade in jail? Well said, Ms. Brazile. Manny Burgos, I heard several stories where management of Acorn centers demanded and accused worker's of not doing their job when it came to reflecting client's - living, deceased, mickey mouse or just plain double upped, was a requirement if they were in need of a payday. I can guaranty this goes on - this goes with full knowledge in Albany when it comes to specific funding that is based on numbers rather than clients and actual accomplishment. I have seen "hole" letters that do not come close to required goals, and within 2 weeks suddenly are dug out and far "exceed" all goals. These are organizations that are basically doing good for people, but put in bad apple with an ego in charge of those in need of a job and the need takes precedence over integrity. These are government agencies that we pay for. I have seen lobbyisys write glowing reports about the organization that pay them, with many of the lobby members on staff from the organization they write about, and the stench is well known in Albany. Anybody who thinks berta or the acorn is ligitimite is either stupid or is being paid by them. by the way did you ever notice when a blog is sent to a liberal they dont like the only thing they do is either get mad or not put in online.
Anybody who thinks berta or the acorn is ligitimite is either stupid or is being paid by them. by the way did you ever notice when a blog is sent to a liberal they dont like the only thing they do is either get mad or not put in online.
Anybody who thinks berta or the acorn is ligitimite is either stupid or is being paid by them. by the way did you ever notice when a blog is sent to a liberal they dont like the only thing they do is either get mad or not put in online.
Anybody who thinks berta or the acorn is ligitimite is either stupid or is being paid by them. by the way did you ever notice when a blog is sent to a liberal they dont like the only thing they do is either get mad or not put in online.
Anybody who thinks berta or the acorn is ligitimite is either stupid or is being paid by them. by the way did you ever notice when a blog is sent to a liberal they dont like the only thing they do is either get mad or not put in online.
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I see we have more in common than the same barber.
Acorn does great work. This organization's record stands for itself. I've met Ms. Lewis twice in my life and to say I was impressed and moved by her work is an understatement.
The knuckleheads that commited the fraud should not only be prosecuted but also slapped for giving the GOP any type of story for them to exagerate, and especially in October. That's one slap for each fraudulent registration.
In community organizing (you know, those of us that do what Governor Palin does but without any responsibility), when addressing issues we try to get to the root of the problem. This allows us to develop strategies that solve problems, instead of treating symptoms. The lack of CIVICS in the classroom is definitely part of the problem. Rock is right on point.
The problem is also the lack of civics in the home, particularly with persons of color.
I would love to see this addressed on the state level, by a collaborative effort of the NYS Board of Elections and NYS Dept of Education:
Rock, this is one of your best columns because it gets to the root of sooooooooooo many issues.
Manny Burgos,
Brooklyn, New York
"Más vale morir luchando, que vivir muriendo."