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 often find myself defending the city and state where I vote, when outsiders and transplants insinuate that there is appalling, deep seated corruption here. I usually point out that indictments are notoriously political, and Louisiana is a crazy political state and has been for generations. Actual convictions are less common …
Pearl River The Institute for Southern Studies is an invaluable nonprofit serving the Southern states. Run by Bob Hall from North Carolina for many years, the Institute published Southern Exposure for many years which focused on work and change. Now for many years directed by Chris Kromm, a journalist, and producing the online publication …
Catania Hurricane Betsy hit New Orleans on September 9, 1965, days after I had begun my senior year in high school. Those were the old days when school didn’t start until after Labor Day. The night the hurricane came, our whole family stayed, along with others, in the city’s central business district on the …