In December 1999, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund launched the Digital Opportunity Partnership (DOP). The purpose of the DOP was two-fold:
- To build the capacity of the national civil rights community through effective use of information technology and
- To assist the civil rights community to participate more fully in the information technology and communications policy debates that increasingly are shaping our society.
To ensure both organizations had the necessary information to design an effective long-term initiative, a baseline survey was developed and distributed to national civil rights organizations. The results of the survey were aggregated and published in a report published in spring 2001 entitled, "From Digital Disconnect to Digital Empowerment: Building a More Equitable Society Through Leadership, Investment, and Collaboration."
The report documents a number of important findings:
- Civil and human rights groups understand that digital policy is important to advancing social justice;
- Concern about the digital divide is not yet translating into activism on communications and Internet policy;
- Few civil and human rights organizations currently have plans to increase involvement or devote more resources to digital issues over the next one to three years; and,
- Civil rights organizations would place higher priority on digital issues if financial resources and technical assistance were made available.
Among the report's recommendations are the following:
- Develop communications and Internet policy staff positions and education outreach campaigns;
- Convene technology leadership forums for civil rights, industry, and foundation leaders;
- Collaborate with existing media policy organizations; and
- Establish a Resident Scholar Program for communications and Internet policy, producing substantive research on the nexus between civil rights and information technology policy.
Digital Divide/Information Technology Policy
Over the last several years, dramatic advances in communications and technology have created a revolution that is transforming economic, social, political, and cultural life. The information revolution has touched everyone, but not all Americans have shared the benefits of this progress. A digital divide still persists between those who have access to emerging communications technologies and those who do not.
Recent reports on the state of the digital divide in the United States, although optimistic, still indicate that the explosive growth in new technologies did not occur evenly across boundaries of geography, race, socio-economic status, education, disability, gender, and age. Scant attention is given to inequalities in adoption of information communications technology for senior citizens, and serious access problems persist for the disabled. In 2001 it was estimated 100 million Americans were still unable to access the Internet. Even when some individuals and small businesses acquire access, they may lack the proper education and/or workforce training to properly utilize these emerging technologies. These are issues that the civil rights community should address at the next level of the digital divide.
Unresolved infrastructure problems persist. Large numbers of Native American households still lack basic telephone and cable services. Without access to phone lines or cable, Internet access in Indian country will remain impossible. In addition, equity in access to communications mediums and media persists in traditional media such as radio, television, newspaper and film. The perseverance of minority stereotypes, the dearth of minority representation behind and in front of the camera, setbacks to the low power FM service and the FCC's equal employment opportunity guidelines, and the continued erosion of minority media ownership are continuing obstacles. They provide added reason for the civil rights community to remain actively engaged on these important issues.
Bush Administration - Retreat on Federal Leadership
After a year of public speculation over whether the White House was committed to expanding information age opportunity to all communities, the Bush Administration has finally broken its silence on the issue, to the dismay of civil rights advocates and others who had hoped that the Administration would continue the federal government's decade-long leadership in bridging the digital divide.
First, the Bush Administration released the latest nationwide study on computer and Internet use in America. This report, part of an ongoing series published by the U.S. Department of Commerce previously known as "Falling Through the Net", was re-titled "A Nation Online" and clearly indicates a new federal approach. Once the national benchmark for measuring the digital divide, the latest report takes the position that the digital divide is no longer a major concern.
The Bush Administration then began implementing this policy shift by proposing to eliminate two critically important community technology programs in the Administration's 2003 budget: the Technology Opportunities Program (TOP) administered by the Department of Commerce; and the Community Technology Center (CTC) initiative, a competitive grant program administered by the Department of Education. In addition, threats to the e-rate program continue to loom.
The Technology Opportunities Program (TOP),
administered by the Department of Commerce, provides matching grants to bring the benefits of innovative digital network technologies to underserved communities across the United States. In FY 2001, funding for TOP increased to an all-time high of $42.5 million. In FY 2002, the Administration requested and Congress appropriated only $15 million for TOP, a 65 percent reduction from FY 2001. For FY 2003, the Administration proposed that TOP be eliminated.
The Community Technology Center (CTC) Initiative,
a competitive grant program administered by the Department of Education, is a vital community-based resource providing a broad range of services in locations that are convenient to underserved and disenfranchised individuals. In FY 2001, funding for the program rose to an all-time high of $65 million. In FY 2002, the Administration requested elimination as part of the technology program consolidation in the No Child Left Behind Act; however, Congress continued funding the CTC program at $32.5 million. For FY 2003, CTC was slated for elimination, with possible rescission of FY 2002 funds.
The Education Rate (E-rate),
established by the Telecommunications Act of 1996 as part of the Universal Service Program, the E-rate provides discounts of 20% to 90% to schools and libraries on telecommunications, internal connections, and advanced services (including Internet access). In FY 2002, the Administration threatened the E-Rate with consolidation in FY 2002 budget request. In FY 2003, while no adverse proposals have been made, recent reports indicate the Administration may attempt to revive the block grant proposal from last year. Below are examples of the impact of these proposals on the digital divide work of many LCCR member organizations and their constituencies and the underserved communities with which they have been working:
- The National Council of La Raza received a TOP grant to establish a broadband digital network to facilitate the delivery of one-stop integrated housing program resources and counseling services to prospective homeowners in Latino communities.
- The National Urban League received a TOP grant to bring access to the national information infrastructure to community residents and community-based organizations (CBOs) in four targeted communities- Baltimore, Maryland; Binghamton, New York; Roxbury, Massachusetts; and Newark, New Jersey.
- ASPIRA Association Inc. received a CTC grant to replicate their community technology center model, building four new centers in the mostly Latino, Empowerment Zone neighborhoods of Chicago, Philadelphia, Bridgeport, Connecticut and Carolina, Puerto Rico.
- The Baltimore Urban League received a CTC grant to provide education, employment, and information support through technology access to an economically disadvantaged urban community.
In February, 2002, LCCR launched a Digital Empowerment campaign involving over 100 national, state, and local organizations in response to the Administration's proposed elimination of TOP and CTC. The campaign's immediate goal seeks to restore funding for TOP and CTC while the long-term goal seeks to begin a national dialogue that will ensure digital opportunity for all Americans. An exclusive Internet component for the campaign can be found at
www.digitalempowerment.org.
Prior to the August recess, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the bill that funds the CTC program and provided CTC $32.5 million - the same amount it received last year. The Committee also approved the bill that funds TOP - providing $15.5 million, also the amount the program received last year. Advocates viewed this result as a remarkable victory, given that these programs were slated for elimination in the President's budget and the fact that this is a tight budgetary year.
Media Diversity
The recent debate over communications policy has focused on market efficiencies and technological development, avoiding the hard questions about equality and community engagement. A civil rights agenda on communications policy would seek to ensure equity and democratic participation in America in those areas vital to the health of our nation and our communities, education, economic opportunity, the environment, health care and political participation. LCCR is working to develop a partnership among a core group of national civil rights organizations to seek out additional ways to introduce a civil rights perspective into the ongoing communications debate. Members of the Senate have introduced legislation that prevents media consolidation, increases competition, and protects current media ownership rules.
LCCR is monitoring these proposals Over the past year, the Leadership Conference has continued to provide strong support for advancing media diversity. In July 2001, the Leadership Conference held a policy luncheon entitled, "Finding New Strategies to Achieve Media Diversity," which specifically examined the impact of legal and regulatory efforts aimed at addressing the decrease in media diversity during the last ten years. The discussion focused on traditionally regulated media (broadcast, cable and radio) and the three core elements that define media diversity: ownership of media outlets; programming and employment; and the strategies for addressing each.
In March 2002, the Leadership Conference partnered with the Consumers Union in developing a set of principles for the FCC and Congress regarding media ownership rules. These principles were joined by: the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Congress of American Indians, National Council of La Raza, and National Partnership for Women & Families, and the National Urban League.
LCCR also participated in a March 15th event sponsored by the AFL-CIO and 28 civil rights, women's, media, public interest, and consumer groups examining "Why diversity and competition in news reporting matters: The case for the retention of the FCC newspaper/broadcast ownership rule." In his remarks, Wade Henderson, emphasized the importance of local news programming in view of the lack of ownership diversity and competition and noted the recent elimination of local news programming.
Other Communication Policy Initiatives
In addition, LCCR has undertaken the following communications policy-related strategies since the release of the baseline report:
- Convened a communications and technology policy forum for the leadership of the civil and human rights community entitled, "Working Toward A Comprehensive Civil Rights Digital Agenda";
- Developed a formal framework within LCCR to become more engaged in communications and information technology policy debates;
- Launched a new Communications and Technology policy luncheon series entitled, "Building a Civil Rights Agenda for the Digital Age";
- Monitored communications and technology policy issues before the Executive, Judicial and Legislative branches;
- Helped to staff a LCCR Digital Empowerment Steering Committee, a working group of over 75 national organizations working on national communications and information technology policies;
- Educated the civil rights community, policy makers, the media and lay public about the civil rights implications of several communications and technology policy matters;
- Created a comprehensive online resource center covering communications and technology policy; and
- Developed a close working relationship with other organizations working on media and technology policy.
