Bridging the Digital Divide

Greetings from San Francisco, home of start-up tech companies galore and where my PC has decided to crash inexplicably.  Good times.

The temporary loss of my computer feels like I've lost contact with the world.  Newspapers and tv and radio and conversation?  What are these communication devices of which you speak???

This reminds me of the issue of the digital divide, which seemed to be a more prominent focus of anti-poverty and equality advocates years ago.  Yet, it still exists, particularly in rural and urban poor communities.  And it's highly relevant as stimulus money filters down to the local level, given Obama's emphasis on reducing the rural digital divide through these funds.  Anti-poverty and racial justice advocates are asking: what about the digital divide in urban poor communities of color?

A recent report reveals that poor households in cities often lack the money to pay for monthly web service, whch can run as high as $60/month, and that internet service providers may not offer service in these low-income neighborhoods.  In my privileged life, I'm put out when I can't get free internet access in a coffeehouse.  Yet, parents and kids in nearby neighborhoods are dependent on libraries, in the best case scenario, and expensive internet cafes - an amenity that's never taken off in the US compared to overseas countries - in the worst case.

As states and cities confront record unemployment, African-Americans and Latin@s face disproportionately high unemployment, and more and more households become homeless, we need to increase the access for everyone to the internet to facilitate job searches and social support during these critical times.  And by everyone I mean especially low-income and minority households in cities across the U.S.  Let's not forget that in this age of Twitter, there are millions of Americans who don't have access to the internet at all.

(Photo by David Silver)