Tamecka Pierce
Tamecka Pierce became an ACORN member/leader in Florida starting in 2002. In this interview, she says that getting door-knocked by organizer Stephanie Porta changed her life. She explains that she comes from a family of freedom fighters, and that she’d always wanted an opportunity to get involved in change-making in her community. “I was all in,” she says. She says she was “living her dream” and that it “felt like a movie.” She talks about Florida’s immigration campaigns in the early 2000s, how they partnered with unions, speaking in front of 5,000 people, and the “freedom rides” actions. She remembers when the Ku Klux Klan found out about their bus route, feeling afraid, but also learning so much during that time. She also talks about Florida’s racial profiling campaign, why it was personal to her, how far they took it, and how it also felt scary at times. Tamecka discusses receiving awards for her work and speaking in front of 30,000 people in Washington, DC. She shares being targeted by ACORN opponents, and expresses frustration with how ACORN in the U.S. ended.