WADE RATHKE is the founder of ACORN, Chief Organizer at ACORN International, and Author of "Nuts & Bolts", "Citizen Wealth", "Global Grassroots", and "The Battle for the 9th Ward".
New Orleans – I was intrigued by the headline in Harper’s “No Vacancy” with a subtitle: “Can empty houses help solve homelessness?” The eyebrow above the head hooked me completely: “Letter from Philadelphia.” Was this a story about something new in Philly or déjà vu all over again of ACORN’s dynamic and successful squatting campaign in …
Pearl River – Sometimes what goes around, comes around, and then should be stopped cold and not allowed to move another inch, and I’m talking about the continued environmental and community degradation allowed to persist in Montana and perpetuated by coal and energy companies. Almost fifty years ago, I was sitting in an old, drafty …
Pearl River The crime is redlining, the pernicious policy of banks discriminating against lower income and minority communities particularly in mortgage lending. And, yes, despite passage of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) not only is redlining still happening, but the impacts of its history are still having …