MARCH 10, 1997
(Dallas/Fort Worth) Researchers for the Parents' Education Research Network have confirmed a link between Interfaith
Alliance, recently endorsed by former broadcaster Walter Cronkite, and the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), a liberal
activist organization with ties to big government solutions and grassroots political activism. The organization has a history of
soliciting funds which are in turn used for lobbying government for taxpayer-funded grants for social programs which are
frequently opposed to the principles of the contributors.
According to a May, 1996 report written by Dr. Dennis L. Cuddy, there are at least 60 schools in 12 Texas cities which have
formalized their relationship with Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) affiliate organizations which are working with "the Texas
Education Agency as part of the Alliance Schools Initiative." According to Cuddy, the IAF is "a network of grassroots
organizations working to restructure schools." The restructuring efforts frequently include "alternative assessments and other
innovations..."[1] which are frequently associated with Goals 2000, and other outcomes-based education initiatives which
emphasize social restructuring and political correctness instead of academics.
One of the key activities of IAF affiliates working in education reform is to assist districts in "writing mission statements, ...[and
then facilitating] the group into accepting it."[2]
The IAF was started by labor activist and socialist Saul Alinsky the 1940s. Alinsky was the author of RULES FOR
RADICALS, a 1971 book in which an introductory acknowledgment is made to Lucifer, "the very first radical ... known to
man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom." Alinsky was
known to proclaim that he was one of the few to have "survived the Joseph McCarthy holocaust of the 1950s and of those
there were even fewer whose understanding and insights had developed beyond the dialectical materialism of orthodox
Marxism."[3]
Interfaith Alliance was begun in 1994[4], and according to Lynn Stuter, a Washington State researcher, there is a known
connection between IAF organizing activities and the Interfaith Alliance.[5] The IAF has been notable for its success in
infiltrating various churches with calls for social activism. Once a church affiliates with the IAF, tithes channeled into the
organization are then used to lobby for increased government funding of pro-abortion and other liberal social policy
advances.[6] Initial affiliation generally is said to run close to $200,000 for a typical congregation. Ongoing membership fees
vary with congregation size.[7]
Locally, Allied Communities of Tarrant is an IAF affiliated organization, and is working in the Fort Worth and Northeast
Tarrant County areas, according to a March, 1996 report published by the FORT WORTH STAR TELEGRAM.[8] Texas
has been a key state for IAF activity.[9]
In addition to member churches, most funding in the past has been from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Carnegie
Corporation, and other well-heeled liberal backers.[10] It is not clear whether the appeal from Cronkite, a well-known
personality, signals a change in strategy for IAF affiliates or simply a one-time trial effort. Other notable supporters of the IAF
include Marc Tucker, (president of the National Center for Education and the Economy), and IAF southwest regional director
Ernesto Cortes of San Antonio.[11] Ernesto Cortes' organization, Texas Industrial Areas Foundation, is cited for having had
inputs into the final report (December, 1995) of the Texas Education Agency's School to Work plan, which was released by
the Texas Workforce Commission and is subtitled A WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM FOR TEXAS.
[1] Cuddy, D. L., "Texas, Other States and the IAF," Christian Conscience, Vol. 2, No. 5, May, 1996, pages 42-45. [2]
Stuter, Lynn, "Putting the Puzzle Together," Christian Conscience, Vol. 2, No. 5, May, 1996, pages 8-16. [3] Ibid. Page 9
[4] Haynes, V. Dion, "Cronkite Solicits Funds for Alliance," Fort Worth Star Telegram, March 9, 1997, page 1, 2. [5] Stuter,
Lynn, Interview with Parents' Education Research Network, March 10. 1997. [6] Lidoudis, Paul, "The Story of the
CHD...Organizing for Power and Money," The Wanderer. [7] Stuter, Lynn, "Putting the Puzzle Together," Christian
Conscience, Vol. 2, No. 5, May, 1996, pages 8-16. [8] Illescas, Carlos, "Candidates Working Against the Clock...," Fort
Worth Star Telegram, March 10, 1996, page 1b. [9] Stuter, Lynn, "Putting the Puzzle Together," Christian Conscience, Vol.
2, No. 5, May, 1996, pages 8-16. [10] Cuddy, D. L., "Texas, Other States and the IAF," Christian Conscience, Vol. 2, No.
5, May, 1996, pages 42-45. [11] Ibid. Pages 42, 44.
From: PARENTS' EDUCATION RESEARCH NETWORK Please diseminate
Re: CRONKITE ENDORSEMENT OF INDUSTRIAL AREAS FOUNDATION AFFILIATE ORGANIZATION
PARENTS' EDUCATION RESEARCH NETWORK ... Was formed in 1994, and currently has research associates
throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth Area, and is affiliated with researchers nation-wide.
THE ORGANIZATION'S MISSION is:
* To inform the public of pertinent issues in education with the goal of a solid, foundational academic education for our
children.
* To enable parents and educators to make informed decisions concerning educational practice and curricula.
Parents' Education Research Network maintains a library of video and audio tapes, along with reading materials, for use by
other research organizations and interested parties.
Questions concerning this press release may be forwarded to the Parents Education Research Network at the e-mail address
townsend@netarrant.net
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