Liberty Hill

In Aftermath of Attacks on ACORN, A CounterForce is Building

 A week or so ago, Brave New Films sent me a video designed to put the ACORN "scandal" in perspective. (ACORN's L.A. chapter receives funding from Liberty Hill.) You can find information on their DeFoxAmerica page. (Miracles happen! Who knew Lou Dobbs would put down his microphone so fast? Maybe it can happen at Fox too.)

Then, last night I heard that the Center for Constitutional Rights was filing a lawsuit. CCR will be representing 3 ACORN entities in a case challenging Congress’s stripping all federal funds to the organization. CCR understands the importance of stopping this kind of politically motivated “orgacide”-- that in addition to stopping all the good work ACORN does, this is just the first organization in what is definitely a long list of places the right will target and tar and feather unless they are stopped--or at least slowed--by the litigation.

The case should shift some of the spotlight onto the real issues of fairness and due process- as all of the government agencies through which ACORN received contracts have established policies and procedures to investigate allegations of misuse of funds and wrongdoing.
 
The primary legal claim is that the law was a Bill of Attainder—a law that punishes a specific individual or group without a trial or judicial hearing. Not coincidentally, the last time we saw this used was during the Red Scare. Get more details.

Powered By Liberty Hill - Advancing Change in the Environment

Liberty Hill just announced its Fund for Change Environmental Justice Awards.

Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now-Los Angeles $25,000.00
Greater Long Beach Interfaith Community Organization $20,000.00
Heal the Bay $20,000.00
People's Community Organization for Reform and Empowerment $22,000.00
Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education $35,000.00
The City Project $20,000.00

Is Community Organizing An Effective Way to Lead School Reform? A New Study Says Yes

A new study by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform of community organizations working for school reform found that community organizations working for school reform are "making considerable strides in school reform across the country." The study included several U.S. cities including Los Angeles.

We haven't seen the complete study yet, but we know that several organizations powered by Liberty Hill were included in the report.

Rachel Maddow, I Love You

Rachel Maddow is thinking ahead. If you've been following our posts about ACORN, you'll be interested in her series of stories about who is next on the Opp Research hit list.  

NBC San Diego is also reporting that California Attorney General Jerry Brown has launched an investigation that not only looks at ACORN's activities but at whether the video taped in California was recorded illegally. It's illegal to record people in California without their knowledge. 

More on ACORN's Reponse

I've been trying to highlight responses to ACORN's well-publicized troubles that provide an antidote to the Fox News drumbeat. There are now so many of them that I thought I'd aggregate the most recent here.

ACORN's former Communications Director tells the story of ACORN's effective campaign against Household Finance. http://discuss.epluribusmedia.net/content/acorn-i-know-david-swanson

MediaMatters has more on how the videos were contrived and doctored. http://mediamatters.org/research/200909240037

ACORN Witch Hunt:
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/09/20/2009-09-20_the_acorn_witch_hunt.html

In Defense of ACORN:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2009/09/18/acorn/index.html

Fox News' incomplete, misleading ACORN coverage is just nuts:
http://mediamatters.org/columns/200909180055

Additional coverage posted Wednesday morning.

ACORN: The Most Cost-Effective Investment the Government (and Foundations) Have Ever Made
http://www.alternet.org/politics/142812

Manipulating the Public Agenda: Why ACORN Was in the News, and What The News Got Wrong. Analysis of news media coverage.
http://uepi.wordpress.com/

ACORN in Perspective

Liberty Hill funds ACORN's work in L.A. The ACORN L.A. office was visited by the two individuals posing as a pimp and prostitute this past July and were shown the door. We are in touch with local ACORN staff to discuss their quality control practices.

It is unfortunate the hoopla stirred up by these tapes is causing many to overlook the outstanding work ACORN has done nationally and locally. Political journalist Joe Conason weighed in this morning with a thoughtful piece on Salon.

ACORN's recent accomplishments include helping nearly 50,000 homeowners access foreclosure prevention services, playing a vital role in raising the minimum wage in six states, and leading the fight against predatory lending.

For the range of current blog-bloviating on the story, see this New York Times round up.

Go to the next page for California ACORN's September 21 response to the news.

How ACORN Shaped Last Week's School Board Resolution: Setting Clear Standards for Non-Traditional Schools

Last week, the L.A. Unified School District voted to open as many as 250 schools to private operators. Liberty Hill grantee partners were involved in amending  the resolution to ensure that non-traditional schools were held to clear standards.

ACORN was a leading force in the amended resolution. Below find ACORN's behind-the-scenes brief detailing why ACORN got involved, the role they played, and how their organizing affected the outcome.

On Tuesday, August 25, the LA School Board passed an unprecedented measure that will permit fifty brand new LAUSD campuses and over 200 existing low-performing schools to be operated using a variety of educational models. Called the Public School Choice Resolution, the measure mandates the development of a process to involve communities and existing school stakeholders in the approval of non-traditional operators of the schools subject to the resolution - including charters, in-District “pilot” models, the Mayor-controlled Partnership for LA Schools, and other entities such as unions and community organizations.

Over the course of the six weeks leading up to the measure’s passage, ACORN and a number of community and labor partners played a key role in the development of the final resolution, resulting in the adoption of a clear set of standards under which the schools will be required to operate and a broader, more inclusive process for determining who will operate the schools.

The process of the resolution’s proposal and passage sparked a great deal of controversy and debate around a number of issues that are becoming common topics within education policy discussions around the country - among them, whether creating market-style competition among different school models can lead to more and better opportunities for quality education...

ACORN Protests Home Wrecking Mortgage Loan Companies

ACORN L.A. (supported by Liberty Hill - see yesterdays' post below) has launched a Home Wreckers campaign to protest mortgage loan companies that are failing to renegotiate loans despite efforts by the Obama Administration to entail unnecessary home foreclosures. Today's L.A. Times has the story.

KPFK producer Roy Ulrich plans a follow-up tomorrow morning between 7 and 8 am on KPFK 90.7 FM.

Liberty Hill Invests $900,000 Grants In Organizing L.A. - Community Leaders at The Frontlines of Change

Who is making change on the ground in L.A.? 

Here are the economic and racial justice organizations Liberty Hill just selected to receive grants from our Fund for Change. 

A New Way of Life Foundation - $35,000

Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now-Los Angeles - $20,000

Black Women for Wellness- $30,000

California Partnership - $20,000

Californians for Justice Education Fund - $25,000

Centro Binacional Para el Desarrollo Indigena Oaxaqueño - $15,000

CLEAN Carwash Campaign  - $15,000

Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles -$30,000

Coalition LA -$25,000

Community Asset Development Re-Defining Education  - $20,000

Community Coalition for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment - $30,000

Figueroa Corridor Community Land Trust - $30,000

Housing Long Beach -$25,000

InnerCity Struggle -$35,000

Instituto de Educación Popular del Sur de California -$30,000

Khmer Girls In Action $20,000

Korean Resource Center -$35,000

Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance -$30,000

L.A. Voice $25,000

Labor Community Strategy Center - $20,000

Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy -$30,000

Los Angeles Community Action Network -$35,000

Los Angeles Taxi Workers Alliance -$30,000 - This year's Wally Marks Memorial Seed Grant

Los Angeles Youth Justice Coalition -$35,000

Peace4Kids -$30,000

People Organized for Westside Renewal -$30,000

Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California -$10,000

Pomona Economic Opportunity Center  $20,000

Progressive Jewish Alliance -$20,000

Restaurant Opportunities Centers United -$30,000

Sober Living Coalition, Metro LA -$20,000

South Asian Network- $35,000

Special Needs Network -$30,000

Strategic Actions for a Just Economy -$30,000

ACORN Up Close. What We Found When We Met With Voter Registration Volunteers in Watts

Tonight, when I get home, my mailbox will be overflowing with slate mailers and highly targeted appeals to vote. My voicemail will be full of “robocalls.” But not every voter gets the kind of attention I do.

ACORN, the country’s largest organization of low-income families, has been trying to change that. In L.A. and across the country. They focus on communities where there are barriers to voter participation. In 2004 ACORN Los Angeles boosted turnout in Watts by 15% -- a community where the average household income is the lowest in the County. In 2005, their work - combined with other civic participation partners - resulted in the highest-ever Latino participation in a local election.

ACORN has been featured in the national news nearly every day. I wanted to see for my own eyes what their work looked like in LA. So I went to Watts on Saturday where ACORN has focused much of its activity this fall.