Urgent: ACORN needs your help to spread the truth‏

Dear Friend,

STOP the attacks on ACORN. Click here.

To put it mildly, ACORN is under attack.

The attack on ACORN (The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) is shaping up to be the most vicious of the 2008 election. The problem is, we will have to suffer the consequences long after the election is over. We need your help, and we need it now.

ACORN is accustomed to opposition. We've been educating, organizing, and empowering low-income communities for nearly 40 years. I can tell you that when you advocate with and for poor people against policies and practices that discriminate and keep communities from thriving, you make some enemies. But we've never seen anything like this.

When John McCain's presidential campaign began sinking in the polls, they looked for a scapegoat. They picked ACORN. And now, in the past few weeks alone, ACORN staffers have received death threats in Ohio and Rhode Island, and offices have been vandalized in Washington and Massachusetts. Numerous threatening and racist phone calls have been made to ACORN offices across the country.

And then there's FOX news, accusing ACORN of all kinds of criminal activity hundreds - HUNDREDS - of times during the past few days. You know what FOX news isn't reporting? This: Just two years ago, John McCain himself stood in solidarity with ACORN, saying of our members, "they are what makes America special."

McCain's attacks have to stop. They are wrong, and the results for hundreds of thousands of people with whom we work will be disastrous. Please, take a moment today and ask John McCain to stop resorting to this deceptive, hurtful attack immediately. Click here.

We hope you'll also spread the word. It will take millions of people to shut down the assault and stop the lies. Our friends at Brave New Films have made a fantastic video about ACORN, that debunks the outrageous lies, and we encourage you to share it.

Thank you so very much for taking a moment to support ACORN while we're in the fight of our lives.

Sincerely,

Steven Kest, Executive Director, ACORN
Bertha Lewis, Chief Organizer, ACORN

P.S. We welcome your financial support as well. This fight is costing us in every way, including financially. Thank you for your generosity.

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ACORN is the nation's largest community organization of low- and moderate-income families, with over 400,000 member families organized into neighborhood chapters in 100 cities across the country. Since 1970 ACORN has taken action and won victories on issues of concern to our members. Our priorities include: better housing for first time homebuyers and tenants, living wages for low-wage workers, more investment in our communities from banks and governments, and better public schools. ACORN stands for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

ACORN's website is at http://www.acorn.org.