In 1935, his and the society's collections were acquired by Lithuania and are held by the M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum.

A collection of various documents related to Lithuanian Americans and their organizations and societies is kept by the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania.

Račkus was born in Čekiškė, then part of the Russian Empire and now central Lithuania, to a family of a Lithuanian book smuggler.

[3] Račkus died in 1965 in Chicago, aged 72, and was buried at Saint Casimir Catholic Cemetery.

[2] In 1916, he published and edited Laivamanių žiedai (Flowers of Freethinkers), a satirical newspaper that was merged with Žvirblis (Sparrow) in 1917.

[2] In 1912–1913, as a student in Montreal, Račkus worked at a local museum and became interested in collecting, restoring, and preserving historical artifacts.

He was further encouraged to collect items related to Lithuania and Lithuanians by Jonas Basanavičius who toured United States in 1913.

[1] In 1922, the society issued the first Lithuanian commemorative medal for the anniversary of Lithuania's independence based on a project of J. Kudirka and Račkus (sculptor Belgian Albert L. Van den Berghen).

[2] Račkus contributed articles to numerous Lithuanian periodicals, including Aušrinė, Darbininkas, Dirva, XX amžius, Moksleivis, Kosmos, Lietuvių tauta, Naujoji Romuva, Tautos praeitis, Pažanga, Perkūnas, Trimitas.

[12] His collection is regarded today as "instrumental for the study and reconstruction of Lithuanian cultural life in emigration at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

For example, M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum organized large exhibitions in 1993 and 2003 for Račkus' 100th and 110th birth anniversaries.