RECORDS, 1972-1980
52 FOLDERS
STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI RESEARCH CENTER-ST. LOUIS
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS
This collection is stored off site. Please allow 3-5 business days for retrieval.
Kathy Pererson, Head Organizer of Missouri ACORN, donated the papers of Missouri ACORN to the Western Historical Manuscript Collection in June, 1980.
ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, was founded in 1970 in Arkansas and is now a nation-wide network of community organizations committed to fighting for social and economic justice for low and moderate income families. In May, 1976, Missouri ACORN became affiliated with the Missouri Tax Reform Group, the organization responsible for coordinating the state-wide initiative petition drive to end sales tax on food and medicine. Missouri ACORN succeeded the Missouri Tax Reform Group.
Missouri ACORN began its first neighborhood organizing effort in St. Louis in Spring of 1976. In the three and a half years since then, nineteen (19) neighborhood chapters have been established, and sues paying membership has grown to fifteen hundred families. Their goal is to build a broadly based constituency of low and moderate income citizens who, by learning to exercise their collective power on local issued, can then attempt larger, more long term issues on city, county or state-wide levels.
The groups have worked on a wide range of neighborhood problems as well as tax reforms, health care, insurance redlining, mortgage redlining, utility rate increases, and the allocation of Community Block Grant funds. In July, 1980 Missouri ACORN was host to the Second National ACORN convention at Washington University. Two thousand ACORN members from nineteen states ratified the ACORN People's Platform which contained nine issues ACORN members have addressed nationally. The Political Action Committee is the political wing of Missouri ACORN.
SERIES DESCRIPTION
The collection is arranged in four series with the bulk of the material relating to issues around which ACORN was organized.
SERIES 1: Missouri Tax Reform Group, Folders 1-5
Arranged by type and subject. Material relating to Sales Tax Repeal and Tax reform campaign, 1976. Correspondence, press releases, brochures, issue attempts, and a tax study.
SERIES 2: Issues, 1976-1980, Folders 6-30
Arranged by subject including redlining, tax reform, utility rate increases, and health care. Correspondence, news clippings, press releases, reports, issue statements, memos, and flyers.
SERIES 3: Neighborhood ACORN groups, 1976-1979, Folders 31-41
Arranged alphabetically by name. Correspondence, press releases, news clippings, reports, flyers and agendas.
SERIES 4: Administrative files, 1976-1980, Folders 42-52
Arranged alphabetically. By-laws, campaign for Human Development's application for 1980 funding, newspaper clippings, correspondence, newsletters, issue status reports.
FOLDER LIST
BOX 1 (020982)
SERIES 1: Missouri Tax Reform Group
1. Correspondence, 1972
2. Correspondence, 1973
3. Correspondence, 1974-1976
4. Newsletters, 1972-1976
5. Sales Tax Repeal and Tax Reform Campaign, 1975-1976
SERIES 2: Issues
6. Allocation of Community Development Block Grant Funds, 1976-1980
7. Campaign Against Inflation, 1978-1979
8. Condominium Conversion, 1979-1980
9. Hazardous Waste Campaign, 1979
10. Health Care, 1977-1978
11. Land Reutilization Authority, 1976-1979
12. North St. Louis General Hospital, 1977-1978
13. Property Reassessment, 1977
14. Redlining, Insurance, 1976
15. Redlining, Insurance, 1977
16. Redlining, Insurance, 1978
17. Redlining, Insurance, 1979
18. Redlining Mortgage, 1976
19. Redlining Mortgage, 1977
20. Redlining Mortgage, 1978
21. Redlining Mortgage, 1979
22. Right to Work, 1978-1979
23. Sales Tax Repeal and Tax Reform Campaign, 1977
24. Sales Tax Repeal on Medicine, 1978
25. Slavin, Alberta's Appointment to Public Service Commission, 1977-1979
26. Small Loan Interest Rates, 1977-1978
27. Southwestern Bell Rate Increase, 1979
28. Utility Issues, Laclede Gas, 1977-1979
29. Utility Issues, Union Electric Company, 1977-1979
30. Water Rate Increase, 1978
SERIES 3: Neighborhood ACORN Groups
31. Central and East Richmond Heights, 1977-1978
32. Cherokee Community Action Group, 1977
33. East Richmond Heights, St. Louis Eye Hospital, 1978
34. Fairgrounds Community Action, FAMUS Association Ferguson Community Association, 1977-1979
35. Goodfellow-Page-Delmar Community Organization, 1978-1979
36. King-Goodfellow Community Organization, Kinloch Neighborhood Organization
37. Manchester-Tower Grove Community Organization, 1976-1978
38. Mill Creek Valley Tenants Coalition, New Sarah Low Community Organization, 1977-1979
39. North Hampton Community Organization, River Des Peres Community Organization, 1976-1977
40. Rose Hill Community Organization, 1976-1977
41. University City Associated Neighborhood, Wellston Community Organization, 1978-1979
SERIES 4: Administrative Files
42. By-Laws
43. Campaign for Human Development Application for Funding, 1980
44. Correspondence, 1976-1978
45. Correspondence, 1976-1978
46. Correspondence, 1976-1979
47. Issue Status Report, 1980
48. Newsletter, 1977-1980
49. Newsclippings, Brochures, Staff Memos,
50. Peoples' Platform Committee and 80 ACORN campaign
51. Peoples' Platform Conference, 1979
52. Political Action Committee, 1977-1978
INDEX
ACORN, f. 1-52
Clay, William, f. 2-3
Condominium Conversion, f. 8
Eagleton, Thomas, f. 1-3
Hazardous Waste, f. 9
Health Care, f. 10, 12, 48
Housing, f. 8, 11, 48
HUD, f. 6
Hungate, William, f. 2
Inflation, f. 7
Insurance Redlining, f. 14-17
Laclede Gas Company, f. 28, 48
Laclede Town, f. 48
Land Reutilization Authority, f. 1 1
Missouri Public Service Commission, f. 25, 27-29. 48
Mortgage, f. 18-21
North St. Louis General Hospital, f. 12
Property Tax Assessment, f. 13
Redlining, f. 14-21
Right to Work, f. 22
Sales Tax Repeal, f. 23-24
Slavin, Alberta, f. 25, 48
Southwestern Bell Company, f. 27
Sullivan, Leonor K., f. 1-3
Symington, James, f. 2-3
Symington, Stuart, f. 2-3
Tax Reform, f. 1-5, 23-24
Taxes, f. 1-5, 13, 23-24, 48
Union Electric Company, f. 29, 48
STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI RESEARCH CENTER-ST. LOUIS
222 THOMAS JEFFERSON LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS
8001 NATURAL BRIDGE ROAD
ST. LOUIS, MO 63121
(314) 516-5143
E-MAIL: whmc@umsl.edu