EXTEND INTERNET'S FULL REACH TO BLACK COMMUNITIES
[SOURCE: Asbury Park Press, AUTHOR: Greg Moore, National NAACP Voter Fund]
[Commentary] We should recognize that, for many black Americans, a seat at the
table in the information age is still largely illusory. It's the time-worn
story of the digital divide. While investment from cable and phone companies
has extended high-speed broadband Internet lines to 95 percent of all homes in
America, only 14 percent of black Americans subscribe to broadband at home.
Many experts suggest that price is the cause of this troubling digital divide,
which has far-reaching consequences for our political community. In an era when
the two Democratic front runners for the presidency one of whom is black
announced their campaigns via Web video, it is a tragic irony that thousands of
black voters across America couldn't see them. During the 2004 elections,
President Bush courageously called for universal broadband by the year 2007,
but no plan ever materialized. Now, presidential candidates once again promise
to expand affordable access to broadband. But talk is cheap. Candidates who
expect the black vote should be prepared to offer real policy solutions to
solve real problems. Moore argues 1) for funding community technology centers,
2) against Network Neutrality, and 3) in support of continuing E-rate funding.
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070511/OPINION/705110384/1030
* NAACP Inconsistent on Broadband
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/83745
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