Digital Empowerment Campaign Gains Momentum
Feature Story by Suzanne Lee and Cory Smith - 4/4/2002
Washington, DC?Only two months after the President unveiled his fiscal year 2003 budget proposal, which seeks to eliminate the Technology Opportunities Program (TOP) and the Community Technology Center (CTC) initiative, a nationwide effort, the Digital Empowerment Campaign, continues to gain momentum and make significant progress in saving these important programs.Over 100 organizations supporting continued funding for the initiatives include civil rights, education, indigenous, religious, women's and public interest media groups, such as the American Bar Association, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the American Association of People with Disabilities, National Education Association. High-tech leaders have also joined the effort to preserve these two modest, but critically important, community technology programs.
The push to save TOP and CTC has been covered by national and local press across the country. In the March 7th edition of the Christian Science Monitor, former Federal Communications Commission Chairman William E. Kennard correlates the technical problems that arose with the voting machines in Florida during the 2000 presidential election with the digital divide. "Just as Internet use among African-Americans and Hispanics trails that of whites by 20 and 28 percentage points respectively, a congressional study of 40 congressional districts found that voters in high-minority, low-income areas were more than three times as likely to have their votes discarded as voters in more affluent districts. Driving this phenomenon was a difference in voting technology." Moreover, Kennard argues that the challenge in bridging the digital divide goes far beyond election reform, and programs like TOP and CTCs are important in accomplishing just that.
An op-ed by Chicago Tribune columnist Don Wycliff noted that the digital divide continues to exist and is having a devastating impact on the poor. In describing an 8th grade social studies class he had visited in a school that was not connected to the Internet, Wycliff pointed out the perils of this persisting lack of access to technology: "Part of being poor?maybe the worst part?is feeling excluded, left out. Left out of society's most important business; left out of its conversations...If nowadays you don't know what e-mail is, you're on the sidelines of many conversations. If by the 9th grade you're not at least vaguely familiar with what a database is and how to manipulate it, you're already trailing the pack."
In a special commentary for the Austin American-Statesman, Gary Chapman weighed in on the danger of neglecting the digital divide and the crucial importance of digital opportunity programs like TOP for bridging the technology gap for low-income, rural and urban underserved communities: "We all have an interest in helping the working poor become full citizens in our increasingly digital and information-rich society. We all have an interest in building useful technological systems that won't be built by the private sector. We all have an interest in building an equitable society, one that doesn't permanently harden into two classes at odds with each other."
Andy Carvin, a coordinator of the Benton Foundation's Digital Divide Network, responded in a recent CNET News.com commentary to Sonia Arrison's mischaracterization of the digital divide that belied the facts and a new report by the U.S. Department of Commerce, "A Nation Online," which suggests that the digital divide no longer exists. "But let's have a reality check. These rumors of the demise of the digital divide are greatly exaggerated, to say the least. In fact, they are flat-out wrong." In the article, Carvin continued to disprove the idea that the digital divide was just a myth by pointing out the growing gap between the poor and the rich who have access to the Internet.
In addition, radio personality Tavis Smiley voiced his support of TOP and CTC on the Tom Joyner syndicated morning talk show. Mr. Smiley has begun a campaign entitled Blacks in Technology (BIT) in support of access to and utilization of technology for people of color. BIT attempts to bridge the gap between technology and African-Americans through seminars and expos nationwide. BIT events have taken place in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Chicago.
Other major news organizations, including the Associated Press, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Bloomberg News, ZDNet News, and MSNBC have also covered the debate over what the role of the federal government should be in providing access to and utilization of information technology in the 21st Century.
Grassroots activists across the nation are also organizing and taking action to support digital empowerment. Activists from California, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon and Pennsylvania have all been active, and effective, on the grassroots level to support community technology programs. Also, local, community organizations, including the North Texas Rural Network, JVS San Francisco, the National Capital Area Neighborhood Networks Consortium, the North Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs Montgomery County Maryland, the Urban League of Central Carolinas Inc., and the Jackson Urban League, have all joined the fight to save community technology programs.
In February the House Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary Appropriations Subcommittee held a hearing on the fiscal year 2003 budget of the Department of Commerce with witness Commerce Secretary Evans. During the hearing Ranking Member Serrano (D-NY), and Rep. Mollohan (D-WV) spent almost the entire duration of their questioning asking Evans about the elimination of TOP and the digital divide. Rep. Royballe-Allard (D-CA) also supported CTC and reiterated her colleagues concerns.
A few weeks later the Senate Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary Appropriations Subcommittee held a hearing on the Commerce Department budget with Evans as witness. Subcommittee Chairman Ernest (Fritz) Hollings, D-S.C., stressing the importance of getting technology to rural areas, queried Evans on why the Bush administration would want to eliminate the Technology Opportunities Program (TOPS), saying "those rural areas need help and this is just a modest $16 million." Sens. Leahy (D-VA), and Murray (D-WA) also supported TOP saying that it was crucial to rural and underserved areas that perpetually are left behind as technology advances.
Finally, Senators Cleland (D-GA) and Snowe (R-ME) co-sponsored a letter joined by almost twenty other Senators in support of TOP and restoring $45 million in funding. Similar efforts have begun in the House, by the Congressional Black Caucus, and by Senator Mikulski (D-MD) on behalf of TOP and CTC. Community technology has also begun to elicit support from key Republicans such as the Governor of North Dakota, John Hoeven.
The House Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education will hold a hearing April 10th to discuss the fiscal year 2003 Department of Education budget with Secretary of Education Rod Paige. The subcommittee is expected to discuss the elimination of funding for CTC.
