Race, Power & Politics (Acorn 8) - Hardcover

McCray, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0984690689 ISBN 13: 9780984690688

Publisher: Williams & Associates Communication, 2012

Synopsis

The only book of its kind, ACORN 8: Race, Power & Politics--Memoirs of an ACORN Whistleblower is a cautionary tale of corruption and deceit within the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). Eight courageous low-income community members refused to drink the Kool-Aid within the Jones Town, cult-like association and challenged Wade Rathke, a Jim Jones-style leader, and the entire ACORN establishment.

For several decades, ACORN ran campaigns across the nation seeking fair, affordable, safe housing and other desirable social justice goals for the dispossessed. The group's style tended toward the confrontational, making demands of powerful corporations and government agencies until change occurred, city by city, state by state.

Michael McCray, a certified public accountant and lawyer, became deeply involved as an ACORN national board member. What he saw and heard shocked him, so he became a whistleblower, a role he had previously assumed as U.S. Department of Agriculture employee. His whistleblowing there had cost him his job, but had not dulled his desire to set wrongs right.

This quintessential American story is told from the unique perspective of actual ACORN leaders and National Board Members; learn the real inside story of ACORN from the ACORN 8--the credible ACORN whistleblowers. ACORN 8: Race, Power & Politics includes a powerful foreword by internationally revered author Tom Devine one of the nations leading whistleblower advocates and Legal Director for the Government Accountability Project.

McCray collaborates with Marcel Reid an African American woman who became an ACORN national board member before McCray and fought what she saw as Caucasian paid-staff domination at the top, with the members viewed as dispensable and interchangeable. While Race, Power & Politics--Memoirs of an ACORN Whistleblower features Reid's whistleblowing prominently, the book is primarily McCray's story, not Marcel Reid's.

The book's villain is Wade Rathke, a brilliant Caucasian community organizer with roots in Little Rock and New Orleans. McCray, Reid and other ACORN members allege that Rathke and his inner circle, including family members, ran the organization as a dictatorship, for power and monetary enrichment. The book also addresses the subject of the massive Service Employees International Union (SEIU), with McCray alleging that union leadership took advantage of ACORN members through an arrangement with Rathke.

McCray covers the rise and fall of this fascinating organization written in a provocative "you are there" style that provides much detail about Rathke and other ACORN staffers. His unique point of view and writing style, results in a surprising but exhilarating reading experience overall. This riveting memoir traces ACORN and SEIU roots from the civil rights and labor movements all the way to Occupy Wall Street including the historic Democratic primary contest between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

"ACORN 8: Race, Power and Politics is a thriller, political analysis, historical document, and screenplay idea all rolled into one. It's a two-pronged story that crescendos just as the world finds out that Dale Rathke, Wade Rathke's brother, embezzled almost a million dollars. It was at that moment that the story exploded in America at large. The book also describes an event that almost no one in the general public knows about: ACORN's battle with the Carlyle Group. If you thought you knew this story, you know nothing about the inside story of ACORN until you read ACORN 8: Race, Power and Politics."
 
SCLC Magazine, Southern Christian Leadership Conference
 
 
"Conservative Democrat Michael McCray deconstructs ACORN shenanigans from the LEFT in this groundbreaking memoir. His provocative exposé reveals an intriguing story of hypocrisy and deceit within a Democratic organization which is strong on substance and passion."
 
The Honorable J.C. Watts, Retired, United States House of Representatives
 
 
"McCray uses an absorbing 'you are there' style so the reader feels like an eyewitness to the glorious climax of ACORN's fairy tale success at organizing communities to fearlessly confront and defeat banks, multinational corporations and others abusing power."
 
Tom Devine, Legal Director, Government Accountability Project
 
 
"McCray covers the rise and fall of a fascinating organization..."
 
Blue Ink Reviews
 
 
"McCray's chilling, compelling and captivating exposé traces ACORN and SEIU roots from the civil rights and labor movements all the way to Occupy Wall Street." It's a "must" read!
 
Maynard Eaton, SCLC National Communications Director
Eight-time Emmy Award Winning Journalist
 
 
"Marcel Reid is one of the bravest people I know...she is a modern day Rosa Parks."
 
Glenn Beck, Fox News
 
 
"The real ACORN story is the ACORN 8."
 
John Fund, Wall Street Journal
 
 
"Beginning with Wall Street greed and corruption and an unbelievable case of commercial mortgage fraud on a national historic landmark, McCray unmasks deceit and corruption within the City of Atlanta, Fulton County and ultimately ACORN itself."
 
Matthew Fogg, Retired United States Chief Deputy Marshal
 
 
"McCray offers a powerful thesis on the importance of education and individual empowerment to mobilizing at-risk communities for direct action, and passionately describes what happens when that process goes awry."
 
Dr. Linda Williams Willis, Director, Harris County Extension Service, Texas A&M System and Former Dean of Agriculture Prairie View A&M University

From the Inside Flap:

Race, Power & Politics is the only book about ACORN ever written by authentic ACORN insiders-National Board Members. It is a must read for all concerned citizens, journalists and advocates, whether Tea Party, conservatives, civil libertarians or fair-minded liberals; anyone interested in-and not afraid of learning the unvarnished truth about the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

Race, Power & Politics is a cautionary tale of corruption and deceit within ACORN. Learn the unsettling truth from true believers who refused to be brainwashed by the "Jones Town" cult-like association or drink the Rathke family "Kool-Aid" and who challenged the entire ACORN establishment, including Wade Rathke a "Jim Jones" like figure, Senator Barack Obama an ACORN man seeking the White House and a Democrat controlled Congress; all while fighting management corruption within ACORN before its inevitable collapse.

Race, Power & Politics is an inspirational journey and a cautionary tale for all non-profits, community organizations and public charities dedicated to supporting human rights and social justice. This powerful first person narrative gives an insiders perspective on ACORN, its senior management and exposes their corrupt practices. A compelling story about the courageous true believers who once loved ACORN and its mission to empower the underserved and marginalized members of American society, but soon discovered the unsettling truth about fraud and deceit within ACORN, and how they battled against insurmountable odds to reform the once venerable association.

About this edition

• Publisher: Williams & Associates Communication
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0984690689
• ISBN 13: 9780984690688
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 376