ACORN's local
office is located in Gresham. You can contact it
at 465-0363 or visit the group's national websiteat www.acorn.org.
Fed up with the predatory business practices of the nation's
largest consumer lender, a righteous, grassroots mob of
Portlanders stormed the local offices of The Associates
home equity company last week, demanding reform--now!
That's how the script read,
anyhow.
In reality, two middle-aged women waited nervously in
the parking lot of a Clackamas strip mall as they read
over a statement that had been written for them by three
professional activists, one of whom had just flown in
from Denver. Two freelance writers and two small children
brought the grand total of those "demonstrating" to nine.
A KATU cameraman filmed the group chanting its slogan,
"Predatory Lender, Criminal Offender!," as the protesters
marched past The Country's Best Yogurt and into the offices
of The Associates.
Inside the well-ventilated office, a radio played "Don't
turn around, uh-oh. Der Kommissar's in town, uh-oh-oh."
A woman greeted the newcomers. They demanded to see the
manager.
The manager listened politely. He winced at the use of
the word "predatory," but didn't argue. He explained that
while he was not authorized to sign the code of conduct
they presented to him, he would be happy to fax it to
corporate headquarters, and he did so, as the protesters
watched. They emerged, triumphant and visibly relieved,
and returned to the parking lot.
Inside the office, the manager deferred all questions
to corporate communications in Dallas. Outside in the
parking lot, the activists deferred questions about their
national campaign to a media specialist in Washington,
D.C. They hopped into a red minivan and an old Chevy with
Nebraska plates and sped back to Lents.
Welcome to the wacky world of nationwide collective grassroots
organizing direct action, as performed by ACORN, the Association
of Community Organizations for Reform Now.
ACORN bills itself as the nation's oldest and largest
grassroots community organization, with 500 neighborhood
chapters across the country. The group has been practicing
confrontational politics since the '70s, but its chapters
in outer Southeast Portland and Gresham have been operating
for only a few months.
ACORN is famous for its confrontational approach, and
also for its insistence that the organization is "member-driven."
The activists don't set the agenda; members from the local
community do. But to call last week's protest "member-driven"
would be a bit disingenuous. It is clearly part of an
orchestrated national campaign.
Not that the issue isn't important. Home equity loans
can be dangerous. People put up their homes as collateral,
risking losing them through foreclosure if they're unable
to make payments loaded with high rates and fees. In a
report about predatory lending in Portland, ACORN offers
an example of a woman who takes a $45,000 home equity
loan and then, after 15 years of paying $500 every month,
is still expected to make a final payment of $41,000.
ACORN's sparsely attended demonstration in Clackamas
coincided with actions in 11 cities across the nation.
ACORN wants the Associates to charge lower interest rates,
reduce fees and fully disclose all terms.
In Dallas, Associates spokesperson David Sandor says
that after the slander-and-demand tactics of last week's
demonstrations, his company isn't rushing to negotiate
with the activists. "I'm not so sure that they want constructive
dialogue," says Sandor. "Their approach is very confrontational
and very theatrical. I don't think they're interested
in anything beyond promoting themselves and promoting
a world view that is simply unrealistic."
In Washington, D.C., ACORN spokesperson Jordan Ash counters,
"Direct action is the only way we're going to change these
things. Otherwise the $1.5 billion this company makes
in profits every year is going to be too much of an incentive
for them to keep things the way they are."
Back in Portland, ACORN organizers Kent Smith and Andy
Schlademan have big plans for the city's neglected neighborhoods.
Both are young, bearded, smart, good-natured, and bursting
with optimism. They report that they've recruited 200
paying members in Portland's overlooked neighborhoods
(dues are $5 a month) and that local support for their
direct style is building.
Indeed, ACORN Oregon has already started fighting for
less glamorous local causes, such as stop signs at hazardous
intersections. And just three days after the Clackamas
action, ACORN held a more spontaneous demonstration at
the county courthouse protesting the practices of another
lending company, Advanta. The action was in defense of
a single mother named Joy Simberg who is on the verge
of losing her home through foreclosure. Twelve people
showed up this time, and while they were unable to stop
the sale of the property, ACORN did help Simberg find
a lawyer and steer the sale toward a company that might
help her keep her home.
Simberg has nothing but praise for ACORN. "I would have
just cowered in a corner somewhere crying if it hadn't
been for them," she says. "I would have given up. They're
really good people."
Yes, but is there a niche for them in Portland? People
within the city's organizing community think there may
be. Jobs with Justice, a similarly hard-edged, anti-corporate
national group, found strong support in Portland but concentrates
on labor issues. Meanwhile, the Portland Organizing Project,
once a powerful advocate for low- and middle-income residents,
has changed its name to the Metropolitan Broad-Based Organization,
softening both its image and its approach.
Steven Ward, an organizer with Oregon Public Employees
Union, thinks ACORN could bring new vigor to Portland.
"The more groups doing this type of organizing, the better,"
he says. "They do seem to carry a certain amount of tension
with them. But that's not always a bad thing."
