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".
Kolkata I first came to Kolkata with the Organizers’ Forum more than twenty years ago. Unlike the megacities of Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru, Kolkata seems largely unchanged so far, something like the old India. The streets were full and pulsating as we came into town after midnight from the airport, which had seen an …
Delhi Getting back to Delhi, I was looking forward to catching up with the work ACORN has been doing with various groups of informal workers through our affiliate Janaphal. On my last visit, the progress in uniting our own hawkers’ unions and associations with other hawkers’ groups in different cities across the country had …
New Orleans All organizers, union, political, or community, know that if you can get members and adherents to do the job of recruiting and persuasion to co-workers, other voters, or neighbors you have done your job well, and your chances of eventual success in the work have increased exponentially. As collective institutions like …