August 2024 Edition

Culture & News

Power of the Whistleblower

Anita Moncrief is a former employee of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). This non-profit was founded in 1970 with a mission to assist the poor and marginalized communities of color. Ms. Moncrief describes herself as idealistic and eager to join ACORN. Later, she would discover corruption at the non-profit, that in turn, would lead her to become a whistleblower. She worked with the New York Times to expose ACORN. She also testified before the Joint House Oversight Committee & Judiciary Committee in December 2009.

ACORN was accused of voter fraud, grant fraud, and misconduct. Ms. Moncrief alleges collusion between the Obama administration and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). She states: “I am calling for two things: 1.) A congressional investigation into the activities of ACORN, Project Vote, the Obama administration and its relation to the DOJ in these Section 7 lawsuits across the country…” (time-stamp 4:24). ¹  She discusses the tactics used by the non-profit: “They put a Black face up there, in the time of crisis, to make it look like it was an organization run by Black people. But it never was” (time-stamp 7:58). ²  At the committee hearing she states: “What happens is, ACORN allows for people to kinda blur the line, in order to get the job done, or help the movement…There are some offices where people are genuinely trying to help the poor. But usually, those people do not last long and they end up leaving ACORN. The ones that stick around tend to become jaded and would give that type of advice” (time-stamp 1:36:15). ³   

The Joint House Oversight Committee & Judiciary Committee (2009) held a hearing about ACORN’s activities. U.S House Representative Ted Poe (Republican, Texas, District 2 109th-115th (2005-2019) states: “The more we learn about the organization, the less it looks like a grass roots community organization, and more like a criminal enterprise. A nation wide criminal enterprise” (time-stamp 28:45). ⁴  U.S. House Representative Lamar Smith (Republican, Texas, District 21 100^th-115th (1987-2019) states: “For years ACORN has been the subject of allegations of fraud, misconduct, and criminal activity. ACORN has been investigated for voter registration fraud in over a dozen states. It’s employees have been charged with 50 different counts of election related fraud” (time-stamp 2:08). ⁵  The committee also expressed concern about the FBI and IRS hesitancy to investigate these allegations.  

Anita Moncrief demonstrates courage with the decision to become a whistleblower. Generally speaking, illegitimate organizations can occur on the political left or the political right. They could also be front organizations for criminal activity, foreign national groups, and/or terrorism. If they choose to target the legitimate complaints of marginalized communities of color, the situation could turn exploitative very quickly. Currently, there are allegations that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has engaged in unlawful collusion with Big Tech social media companies and political weaponization. If true, this sets a dangerous new precedent for the country.

     

Bibliography

(1) “Anita Moncrief, ex-Acorn worker, speaks on Voter ID” YouTube video, 5:55. “Michael Openshaw,” December 15th, 2011.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6cOyD0uCPg

(2)“WI-CFL 2011 Annual Conference – Anita Moncrief ACORN Whistleblower” YouTube video, 18:11. “Crye55,” May 4th, 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=344zseAQhQM

(3, 4, 5) “Allegations Against ACORN” CSPAN video, 2:04:03. The House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform Committees. December 1st, 2009. https://www.c-span.org/video/?290347-1/allegations-acorn

💖For Additional Reading

1.) CSPAN: Allegations Against ACORN (December 2009)

“Republican members of the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform Committees talked about recent allegations against ACORN and congressional bans on federal funding for the organization.”-CSPAN 

https://www.c-span.org/video/?290347-1/allegations-acorn

2.) HuffPost: Opinion: The Business Of Black Death And A $6 Million Mansion (April 2022)

“Ferguson activist Darren Seals tried to warn the rest of America that the Black Lives Matter organization was not the sacred cow everyone believed it to be.”–Stephen A. Crockett Jr.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/black-lives-matter-6-million-dollar-mansion_n_62504d6be4b06c2ea31cecde

*Notice: Anita Moncrief was also featured in the Special Edition: A Nation in Apostasy? (May 2022). To view click here.

Art/Film/Literature News

Oscar and Emmy Foster Kittens

Oscar and Emmy learn the importance of fostering kittens for 12 weeks in the book: Oscar and Emmy Foster Kittens written by Terri Sabol & illustrated by Roksana Barwinska (37 pages, 2024, kindle edition). It has a good storyline and nice illustrations. A super cute book!  

Business/Non-Profit/Inspirational News

Essence Festival

The Essence Festival 2024 (30th Annual Event) was July 4th-July 7th, 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Alicia of Livin fearless attended the event and her YouTube video is posted below. The festival returns again next year July 3rd-July 6th, 2025. Happy summer everyone!

Book Review

Critical Race Theory

Critical Race Theory (CRT) has been the subject of much public controversy. I have wanted to read this book for a while now: Critical Race Theory, Fourth Edition: An Introduction (Critical America Book 87) by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic (223 pages, 2023, kindle edition). I feel it’s best to get the proponents’ thoughts, opinions, and philosophy directly from the source. There are some critiques of this theory that could be made, as well as other avenues to take for solutions. It is important to remember many social theories have different branches within their own body: conservative, moderate, and radical. CRT also demonstrates these types of branches. Overall, a very good and interesting read.

🌷Book Quotes:

“The critical race theory (CRT) movement is a collection of activists and scholars engaged in studying and transforming the relationship among race, racism, and power.”

“Some members of the Black community hold that not enough of society’s attention goes to law-abiding Black citizens who are the victims of crime in Black neighborhoods.”

“White privilege refers to the myriad of social advantages, benefits, and courtesies that come with being a member of the dominant race.”

“And if CRT does have a dark side, what follows from that?

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