Social Work Commons^™

Racial Diversity On Acorn's Organizing Staff, 1970-2003, Fred Brooks

SW Publications

Using historical and case study methods, this paper analyzes how the organizing staff of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) went from 10% organizers of color in 1970s and 1980s to 64% organizers of color in 2003. Keys to this transformation included experimenting with different organizing models, job descriptions, and recruitment methods; aging and lifestyle changes of senior management; developing a "critical mass" of organizers of color; and an internally organized Caucus of Color. Many of the steps ACORN took to diversify support findings from the business literature on diversity management. With the racial composition of staff …