Walking the Edge of Immorality

We organizers tend not to badmouth our colleagues in public. In some ways we protect our own. But the recent ACORN prostitution scandal has me worried about our profession. Prior to the uproar, I had hoped that President Obama's rise to power would make community organizing a respected sector of the workforce rather than some ill-defined stepping-stone for young people. But we seem to be losing ground again. Of course, many right-wingers were already belittling community organizing as a profession during the Obama campaign--to the chagrin of some conservative community organizers. But the recent attacks on ACORN are especially damaging. While we organizers have a responsibility to counter the misinformation of right-wing pundits and politicians who attack our colleagues (though Rachel Maddow probably did a better job of defending ACORN's work than any of us ever could), we must also be willing to clean house on our end. If we are going to survive the current tsunami of attacks, our own conduct, as Gandhi often said, must be above reproach.

To merely shake one's head in disbelief as groups like ACORN go down in flames is to be a victim. Community organizers must look inward at our policies, practices, and organizing culture. It should have been no surprise to us that ACORN became a target of the right. I know many organizers in Chicago who disliked ACORN because they often claimed turf in the communities they served. A long-time neighborhood leader told me he was derided for organizing in "ACORN's territory." A friend of mine who was once an ACORN leader complained that the organizers often organized ACORN meetings on community issues only to adjourn those meetings a few minutes later, telling people that "the ACORN meeting [was] officially over and anyone wishing to stay for the election campaign meeting of [X politician] could do so." Many of us found such tactics to be unethical and unfortunate, but we also felt it really wasn't our problem. Would I want ACORN meddling in my affairs?

Article Author: Rey Lopez-Calderon

For over 15 years, Rey López-Calderón has worked for the betterment of communities in Los Angeles, Orange County (CA), and Metropolitan Chicago. In addition to his work in community organizing with affiliates of both the Industrial Areas Foundation …

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