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[[File:ACORN.jpg|right]]

[[File:ACORN.jpg|right]]

The '''Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now''' ('''ACORN''') is the name of an umbrella group with offices under various names through the [[United States]].  These [[left-wing]] activist groups describe themselves in various cities as a ''"non-profit, non-partisan social justice organization"'' <ref>[http://www.acorn.org/index.php?id=12342 ACORN website]</ref> geared to helping the poor achieve jobs and control over their communities. Founded in Arkansas in 1970, ACORN advocated higher minimum wages, access to affordable housing and increased voter registration in low-income communities, though many charge that they often focused on voter registration in swing political states like Ohio.  On March 22, 2010, it announced that "it would close all its remaining state affiliates and field offices by April 1" and try to resolve its outstanding debts.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/23/us/23acorn.html Acorn to Shut All Its Offices by April 1], [[The New York Times]]</ref>

The '''Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now''' ('''ACORN''') is the name of an umbrella group with offices under various names through the [[United States]].  These [[left-wing]] activist groups describe themselves in various cities as a ''"non-profit, non-partisan social justice organization"'' <ref>[http://www.acorn.org/index.php?id=12342 ACORN website]</ref> geared to helping the poor achieve jobs and control over their communities. Founded in Arkansas in 1970, ACORN advocated higher minimum wages, access to affordable housing and increased voter registration in low-income communities, though many charge that they often focused on voter registration in swing political states like Ohio.  On March 22, 2010, it announced that "it would close all its remaining state affiliates and field offices by April 1" and try to resolve its outstanding debts.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/23/us/23acorn.html Acorn to Shut All Its Offices by April 1], [[The New York Times]]</ref>

In 2009, the Baltimore group was accused of dispensing advice on how to set up a prostitution ring involving more than a dozen underage illegal immigrant girls,<ref>[https://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/10/acorn.prostitution/ ACORN workers caught on tape allegedly advising on prostitution], ''[[CNN]]'', September 11, 2009.</ref> among other illegal activities.  ACORN was also been mired in the controversy connected with the collapse of mortgage giants [[Fannie Mae]] and [[Freddie Mac]] in the fall of 2008.  In response to the scandals, the name 'ACORN' was withdrawn from local offices across the United States and local chapters adopted new names adapted to the local environment. However the organizations national structure remains intact.

In 2009, the Baltimore group was accused of dispensing advice on how to set up a prostitution ring involving more than a dozen underage illegal immigrant girls,<ref>[https://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/10/acorn.prostitution/ ACORN workers caught on tape allegedly advising on prostitution], ''[[CNN]]'', September 11, 2009.</ref> among other illegal activities.  ACORN was also been mired in the controversy connected with the collapse of mortgage giants [[Fannie Mae]] and [[Freddie Mac]] in the fall of 2008.  In response to the scandals, the name 'ACORN' was withdrawn from local offices across the United States and local chapters adopted new names adapted to the local environment. However the organizations national structure remains intact.

From 1992 to 2004, [[Barack Obama]] ran leadership training sessions<ref>[http://www.socialpolicy.org/index.php?id=838 Case Study: Chicago-The Barack Obama Campaign], By Toni Foulkes, ''Social Policy'', Winter 2003, Vol. 34, No. 2 Spring 2004, Vol. 34, No. 3.</ref> and served as an attorney for the group in Chicago. The Organization was one of the biggest supporters of the [[Occupy Wall Street]]-movement.

ACORN was founded in 1970 by [[Wade Rathke]], a veteran of the [[Maoist]] oriented [[Students for a Democratic Society]] (SDS).  From 1992 to 2004, [[Barack Obama]] ran leadership training sessions<ref>[http://www.socialpolicy.org/index.php?id=838 Case Study: Chicago-The Barack Obama Campaign], By Toni Foulkes, ''Social Policy'', Winter 2003, Vol. 34, No. 2 Spring 2004, Vol. 34, No. 3.</ref> and served as an attorney for the group in Chicago. The Organization was one of the biggest supporters of the [[Occupy Wall Street]]-movement. Some conservatives targeted ACORN because of its liberal agenda. Stanley Kurtz calls it "the largest radical group in America,"<ref name=kurtz-inside>[http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NDZiMjkwMDczZWI5ODdjOWYxZTIzZGIyNzEyMjE0ODI= Inside Obama’s Acorn: By their fruits ye shall know them] - Stanley Kurtz, [[National Review]]</ref>

==History==

==History==