Anyone here familar with an organization called ACORN?

[sweetladybug]

Tomorrow I'm going for a job interview with this organization and I was hoping for other's opinion of ACORN.
Gayle

[expatriot]

1. i have heard of it before, always thought it to be a good org.

what position are you applying for? organizer?

[sweetladybug]

7. Hi expatriot, I'm applying for an Activist / Organizer Position

I just don't know what I could be getting into. They did tell me, that I would have to be will to go to protest rallies sometimes, attend political events on occasions, do fundraising and organizing events. I am just kinda concerned about protest rallies (I worry if it's save to protest now days) What's your opinion?
Gayle

[John Q. Citizen]

10. Protesting is quite safe the vast majority of the time.

Is driving home late on the weekend safe? The vast majority of the time, it's quite safe.

I have a friend who works with Acorn. They organize low income folks around community issues. It's fun and exiciting work if you are good at it. And it's great training if you are interested in working in politics or social change.

[expatriot]

11. Protesting is quite safe....

I have been to many, many protests both large and small and I personally have NEVER ran into a "bad cop." Obviously they're out there but I really believe that 99.9% of police take their job of allowing people to peacefully assemble very seriously. Now, this is different when you get the huge mass protests in which case the protesters are dehumanized in the eyes of the police and the police are dehumanized in the eyes of the protesters and then you have some problems, especially if you have the black bloc or some other direct confrontation group wanting to start a melee with the cops.

If you are worried about being put on a list by the DHS well if you are a paid organizer, you just have to live with that. Take one for democracy. Most lists are harmless, really.

[signmike]

2. Acorn? ACORN!? Sounds a buncha nutz to me . . .

:crazy:

[Elidor]

3. ACORN is a southern acronym

A Couple Of RedNecks :D

[DBoon]

4. They've been around at least since the early 1980's

As I recall they do (or did) basic nuts-and-bolts community organizing in lower income areas. More of an issue focus rather than electoral politics

[Divernan]

5. good luck with your interview!

Let us know if you get the job.

[JohnnyRingo]

6. I knew I'd seen a link to ACORN somewhere...

It was at "BestOfTheBlogs":

http://www.acorn.org/

They sure seem to be fighting the good fight, judging from this site.
Good luck with your interview.

[sweetladybug]

8. Thanks everyone

I'll let you all know how things go tomorrow
Gayle

[ConsAreLiars]

9. Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now

A well respected group (unless things have changed dramatically) implementing grassroots organizing for "power to the people" along the lines of Saul Alinski's "Rules for Radicals," bringing together activists and orgs from labor to churches, with the goal of building autonomous community-based movements.

I assume you know most of this, but if not, brush up on Alinski before your interview. Here's a brief summary of his life and outlook: http://home.comcast.net/~fpbsermons/alinsky.htm

[monobrau]

12. I think they're good folks, but -

I was annoyed with the way they micro-managed KNON, a community radio station in Dallas back in the 80's - 90's. They exerted control over the management and staff to suit their vision of the station, even though it went against the community that supported it through volunteering and pledge drives.
I'm not aware of the present situation out there.
That's just my beef, I think they do good work though.

[ConsAreLiars]

13. Alinski has been criticized

for empowering folk regardless of their political or social goals and values. Don't know that particular case, but he was very much a Jeffersonian type democrat, believing that people ultimately will make decisions that reflect the common good. I think we also need inspirational visionaries like MLK or Mandela or Gandhi or Buddha or Jesus or Zoroaster or Marx or Woodie Guthrie, but the "power to the people" approach implies that the "organizer" is not a dictator.

[katamaran]

14. Over 200 of them had a protest in VA last week....

ACORN bused in I think four buses of protestors to raid the corporate headquarters of Liberty Tax in Va Beach last week. They pretty much broke down the doors of the building and clogged the hallways. They were protesting Liberty's fee for early tax refunds. VBPD ended up arresting several of them for unlawful assembly.

-------------------------

http://www.wvec.com/news/local/stories/wvec_local_032405_liberty_tax_arrests.16dd56a98.html

Protest turns violent in Va. Beach

09:59 PM EST on Thursday, March 24, 2005

By 13News

A protest outside a tax preparation company turned violent, Va. Beach police said. Four busloads of people went to Liberty Tax corporate headquarters to protest what they say are too high fees for Refund Anticipation Loans.

Police said the 200 protestors almost immediately stormed the front door and entered the business. "There were some assaults and some disturbing the peace," said police spokesman Brian Riccardo. Two tax company employees had minor injuries, police added. The protestors will be arrested for unlawful assembly, Riccardo told WVEC.com.

The protestors are members of ACORN. The group says Liberty charges as much as $59, on top of its regular fees, to get tax refunds back quicker than they otherwise would. Alison Conyers, media liason for ACORN, told 13News "This is unfortunate and takes away from their main purpose."

Virginia Beach police say they issued 124 summonses to demonstrators and arrested one person who was wanted in another jurisdiction.