Former Leftist Activist, Turned FBI Informant, Pulls Back the Curtain On ACORN

I first experienced ACORN in post-Katrina New Orleans. I was part of a relief organization, Common Ground Relief, which  had been delivering much needed aid to the 9^th Ward, an area that had been hit especially hard by the flood waters and by neglect. Rumors immediately began surfacing, questioning our motives and intentions. I was very confused by these rumors. Who was behind them? How could anyone question the vital work we were doing in the community?  We lived and worked in the 9^th Ward. We suspended our regular lives and, in many cases, left our families to travel to New Orleans to help those affected by Katrina and poverty. We slept on dirty plywood floors and shared everything we had with the residents.  Most of us were white. Was our skin color the issue? I knew from personal experience that the majority of the Black 9^th ward residents didn’t care what color our skin was. It took me awhile to get over the hurt I felt at such allegations and to find out where they were coming from.

In the following weeks, I was made aware of the fact that ACORN had reopened its New Orleans office (several months after the storm). Various groups from around the city informed me that Acorn was upset with us because we were in “their” community and had not sought approval from ACORN to operate there. I was told that ACORN said that we were “privileged white people who had come to a Black community as saviors and we refused to work with local Black leadership.”

The more I pondered the matter, the more I realized what was happening. As usual in marginalized and impoverished communities, a small group of radical self-proclaimed leaders was insisting that all local aid and relief came through them—even if they were AWOL for several months. Though the majority of residents either hadn’t heard of ACORN or simply disagreed with their politics- ACORN insisted that they were THE Black leaders. This was upsetting to me. Sure, the local pastor we worked most closely with was Black; but that didn’t matter to ACORN. It was as if Pastor Johnson didn’t count because he didn’t evoke the name of Elijah Mohammed or Malcolm X. It was as if Pastor Johnson didn’t count because he didn’t submit to ACORN’s mandate that ACORN was the sole leadership of Black New Orleanians.

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Tags: Common Ground Relief, FBI, Katrina, Lisa Fithian, Minneapolis
Posted Sep 12th 2009 at 4:48 pm in ACORN, Featured Story | 1558474 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/bdarby/2009/09/12/former-leftist-activist-turned-fbi-informant-pulls-back-the-curtain-on-acorn/Former+Leftist+Activist%2C+Turned+FBI+Informant%2C+Pulls+Back+the+Curtain+On+ACORN2009-09-12+23%3A48%3A43Brandon+Darby