'ACORN & the Firestorm' Chronicles the Demise of a National NGO

Midday on WNYC | May 18, 2018

Reuben Atlas discusses his new documentary, ACORN and the Firestorm. The film looks at the story of ACORN, a national community organizing group that, leading up to the 2008 election, had helped to register 1.3 million voters, mostly low-income marginalized people in swing states. Then, during Obama’s first year in office, a twenty-year-old journalism student and a conservative political activist used a hidden camera and a fake prostitute to try and bring down the organization. The film looks at how Bertha Lewis, ACORN’s CEO, and the organization at large tried to weather the ensuing media frenzy and loss of funding.

ACORN and the Firestorm premieres on May 21 at 10:00 pm on PBS (check local listings).

This segment is guest host Arun Venugopal.

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