Introduction

Our society is in the midst of a profound technology-based communications revolution. This so-called "digital revolution" is transforming our economic, social, political and cultural life. Technological advances, particularly the Internet, are not only reshaping how we learn, work, shop, correspond, and recreate, they are fundamentally reshaping the way individuals and institutions relate -- "a potentially radical shift in who is in control -- of information, experience, and resources." ¹

Every day, through the power of technology, individuals and organizations seize power away from large institutions such as the media by accessing, aggregating, producing, manipulating, and disseminating information on their own terms. Technology-based communications advances (in particular, the Internet) are providing individuals and organizations with the unprecedented ability to bypass intermediaries - in commerce, culture, and politics - and do for themselves that which they previously relied on others to do for them. These advances hold the potential to greatly empower individuals and organizations interested in pursuing social and economic justice to harness technology to advance social change.

For those with access to technology and to the skills to use them, the digital age will bring unprecedented opportunity. Unfortunately, not everyone has such access and there is evidence that technological advances may be aggravating existing patterns of inequality between those with access to Information Age tools and the skills to use them and those without (commonly referred to as the "digital divide").

Before we can work to bridge the "digital divide," however, we must understand its various dimensions. Fully measuring or anticipating its impact is impossible because the Internet is still in its infancy. As the medium continues to evolve and mature, the nature of the divide is likely to evolve as well.²

One aspect of the divide that has not received much attention is the manner in which the digital age is impacting the civil and human rights groups who advocate for a more equitable and just society. Do they too stand on the wrong side of the digital divide? If so, what are the implications for their work to achieve social justice or to help shape the new digital society?

These are not merely academic questions. Heretofore, traditional media has, at times, been an obstacle rather than a tool for a more just society. Rather than building community or promoting tolerance, it has often perpetuated stereotypes and limited opportunity. The digital society provides an unprecedented opportunity for those who care about diversity and equality to break free of media gatekeepers and communicate with the public on their own terms.

But while the civil and human rights groups struggle to join the digital age, they still remain far behind. By contrast, many individuals and organizations that have been longstanding opponents of diversity and equality have been some of the early adopters of the new technologies, and are using the Internet to attract new members and get their message out. The number of hate groups that have developed sophisticated web presences is perhaps the most telling example.

More importantly, civil and human rights organizations, with few exceptions, have not been among the organizations at the policymaking table, influencing public policies that set the fundamental rules of engagement for the digital age.³ But without question, the time for policy engagement is now. If the leadership of the civil and human rights community is not helping shape the rules for the new medium while it is still in its infancy, it will find it far more difficult to change them after the fact.

During the kick-off of the White House's Digital New Markets tour in April 2000, President Clinton observed that the Internet promises to "be the greatest equalizing force our society or any other has ever known." But the question remains, how can that promise be realized if the principal advocates for equality of opportunity over the years, the civil and human rights community, remain largely disconnected?

At the dawn of a century that will be shaped by new technologies yet unimagined, civil and human rights groups cannot afford to be shut out of digital opportunities. This report is intended as a first step toward assuring that those who serve the goals of equality and social justice find a place at the digital table.

The report examines the capacity and use of new technologies by member organizations of the LCCR/LCEF⁴ as well as their understanding and participation in digital public policy. The report concludes with a set of recommendations aimed at building leadership, investment, and collaboration among civil rights advocates and their supporters.

Background

In the past several years, the national civil and human rights community has begun to take bold steps to integrate technology into its mission and activities. It has developed an increasingly robust web presence and has begun to examine the civil rights stake in communications and Internet policymaking.

The LCCR/LCEF have been at the center of the civil rights community's involvement in this arena, spearheading efforts to educate and increase not only the civil rights community's involvement on the policy front but also its use of technology. The Leadership Conference's website, www.civilrights.org, was first launched in November 1997 with the assistance of the Bell Atlantic Corporation (now Verizon) to respond to the civil rights coalition's need to harness the power and reach of technology to advance social change in the digital age.

During the same year, LCCR co-convened a Technology Forum with IBM Corporate Community Relations to begin a dialogue among different constituency groups to improve technological access for underserved communities. This forum entitled, "For Use By Us All" represented the first time that leaders from the nation's leading civil and human rights organizations came together to discuss the importance of technology and the barriers they face in bringing technology to their communities.

Since the launch of the site, the Leadership Conference has continued to expand civilrights.org and to encourage the civil rights coalition to embrace new technologies and become involved in shaping the rules for a digital society. Most recently, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights has sponsored the UnitedAgainstHate.org campaign, an Internet-enhanced grassroots campaign to promote passage of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act by the U.S. House of Representatives. The campaign is using technology to help mobilize and energize the coalition's local contacts to coordinate local UnitedAgainstHate.org coalition events all across the nation. While the campaign continues, preliminary results demonstrate the tremendous promise of using Internet technology in a coordinated manner to advance social change.

In May 1999, the Leadership Conference invited Steve Case, Chairman and CEO of America Online, to deliver a luncheon keynote address at the Leadership Conference's annual Civil Rights Policy Conference, "Working Towards One America," in which he observed that access to the Internet and technology "may well be the civil rights issue of the 21st century." Case's challenge to the civil and human rights community echoed the Leadership Conference's call for digital empowerment.

Shortly thereafter, the Leadership Conference, in partnership with the America Online Foundation, launched the Digital Opportunity Partnership to "unleash the power of information technology on behalf of the nation's civil rights agenda." The Partnership is designed to provide online and offline tools and assistance to help civil and human rights organizations build technology capacity and incorporate technology into their efforts to create a more just and equitable society.

Additional support has been provided by the Ford Foundation, the Markle Foundation, IBM, the Verizon Foundation (formerly Bell Atlantic Foundation) and Verio, Inc.

In the spring/summer of 2000, the Leadership Conference conducted a survey of the member organizations of LCCR to inform the direction and scope of the Digital Opportunity Partnership and civilrights.org. Specifically, the survey sought to:

Determine the capacity of organizations to use new information and communications technologies to advance the civil rights' mission;
Evaluate the extent to which civil rights organizations are currently engaged in helping their affiliates, chapters and constituencies move into the digital age; and
Determine the extent to which civil rights organizations understand and are engaged in shaping digital public policy issues.

¹Shapiro, Andrew L. The Control Revolution: How the Internet is Putting Individuals in Charge and Changing the World We Know, Public Affairs, Inc. New York, New York (1999).

²Some early research on the nature of the digital divide includes:
Falling Through the Net, July 1995;
Falling Through the Net II, July 1998;
Falling Through the Net: Defining the Digital Divide, July 1999;
Falling Through the Net: Towards Digital Inclusion, October, 2000

³For example, while civil rights groups have been only peripherally involved in telecommunications and Internet policy, the Cato Institute has issued a report calling for an end to traditional Universal Service, which assures that local phone service is affordable for consumers (see "Universal Service: The New Telecommunications Entitlements and Taxes," and the Heritage Foundation attacked the E-rate which makes the Internet affordable to underserved schools and libraries as a "secret tax" (see "The Hidden Phone Bill Tax,"). Together, these actions represent an opening salvo in a campaign to eliminate any rules governing fairness, nondiscrimination and equal access in the digital age.

⁴The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) consists of more than 180 organizations representing persons of color, women, children, labor unions, individuals with disabilities, older Americans, major religious groups, gays, lesbians, and civil liberties and human rights groups, and is committed to fighting to preserve and defend equal justice, equal opportunity, and mutual respect. The Leadership Conference Education Fund (LCEF) is an independent, non-profit, tax-exempt, research organization established to support educational activities relevant to civil rights which enjoys a close relationship with the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. LCEF's mission is to strengthen the Nation's commitment to civil rights and equality of opportunity for all. Through a number of forums, LCEF seeks to communicate to the American people about the progress made in civil rights, the continuing challenges, and the strength of the Nation's diversity.

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