The Midwest Academy in Chicago, Illinois is an educational institution founded in 1973 by Heather Booth, to provide training for organizers in neighborhood organizations. She is an activist who participated in Mississippi Freedom Summer civil rights projects (1964). Her husband, Paul Booth, is the founding member of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and president of Chicago’s Citizen Action Program.
The Midwest Academy joined with these groups on a variety of Community Action campaigns. In 1978, the leaders of about 70 labor, citizen, senior, and farm organizations met in Washington, D.C. to found the Citizens/Labor Energy Coalition (CLEC). In 1979, five state groups met in Chicago to form a national federation, Citizen Action. The founding organizations were Oregon Fair Share, Massachusetts Fair Share, Illinois Public Action Council, Connecticut Citizen Action Coalition, Ohio Public Interest Campaign.
In 2000, Booth became executive director of NAACP’s National Voter Fund, where she remains. Heather Booth also joined with activists in 1999 to revive the defunct Citizen Action as USAction, where she now serves as co-chair. The Midwest Academy has trained many leading labor unionists, community, and grass roots activists.
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