Acorn Founder Speaks at UConn
Updated 1:30 PM EDT, Wed, Nov 11, 2009
The co-founder of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now -- or Acorn -- is making a trip to the UConn school of Social Work today.
Wade Rathke will speak with UConn Professor Robert Fisher during a talk at the School of Social Work on Nov. 11. The talk called "Community Organizing: America's Hope?" will focus on the current state of community organizing in Obama’s America.
Rathke has been a professional organizer since the late 1960s. He also has worked for and founded a series of organizations dedicated to winning social justice, workers rights, and democracy.
Acorn has come under fire recently. State investigators raided Acorn's New Orleans offices on Friday, according to a report in the New York Times.
Investigators took hard drives and documents in an investigation into accusations of embezzlement and tax fraud.
A lawyer for Acorn said in a statement to the Times that the raid was prompted by accusations that former Acorn employees had removed or altered electronic documents and might do so in the future.
The raid was the latest in a string of troubles for Acorn.
Videotapes released recently showed two people posing as a pimp and a prostitute seeking advice on tax evasion at Acorn offices, the Times reports. The responses given by the Acorn workers in the tapes led Congress and state governments to cut financing for the organization.
Last year, Acorn settled an internal dispute and a lawsuit involving accusations that Rathke's brother Dale made about $948,000 in improper credit card charges in 1999 and 2000. The Rathke family and a donor repaid the money, and no criminal charges were ever filed.
Wade Rathke's talk will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Zachs Community Room at UConn’s Hartford Campus, 1798 Asylum Ave., West Hartford. The event is free and open to the general public.
First Published: Nov 10, 2009 9:23 AM EDT
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