Wired Less: Disconnected in Urban America | Black Agenda Report

Wired Less: Disconnected in Urban America

Bill Quigley

15 Apr 2009

🖨️ Print Article

by InternetForEveryone.org

Comcast, Verizon, AT&T and other telco giants have spent mad public relations money spreading the myth that the digital divide is a thing of the past. Some heedless and lazy black bloggers have helped spread this lie, but it's still a lie. Redlining of and denial of service to poor and minority communities has been a core feature of the business models of the cable industry since its start decades ago, and of the phone companies for more than a century. But in the 21st century, cheap, available broadband internet is as necessary to economic development as paved streets and roads. Communities without it will become or remain economic, educational, business and social backwaters.

See, hear and read more stories about the digital divide and what it costs communities, families and lives....

America Offline

InternetforEveryone.org is working to shed light on the millions of Americans who live without regular Internet access or lack the training or equipment to get online. A small reporting team is traveling to communities across the country to tell people's stories. Free Press' Megan Tady interviewed residents of Los Angeles, Calif., and Washington, D.C. On this site, you can follow our trek and get an up-close view of America’s urban digital divide

Wired Less: Disconnected in Urban America

A report on life without the Internet in urban Americ. Five stories, each with video. »

The web site of Internet For Everyone contains much more information, and is a frequently updated source of information on the campaign to bring high speed broadband to all our communities. Do check it out. If you have a web site or blog, link to it at http://www.internetforeveryone.org/.

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.

More Stories

Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
Without Including Biden and Blinken and the Issue of Genocide, International Criminal Court Arrest Warrants Are a Sham
27 Nov 2024
The International Criminal Court finally indicted Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, but this action is merely performative. If arrest warrants do not include war criminals like Joe…
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
ESSAY: The Prospects for Fascism, Manning Marable, 1981
27 Nov 2024
Manning Marable reminds us that US fascism is institutional and normalized. The parallels of his 1981 essay with the present are obvious – US fascism remains ascendant.
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Washington Post Attacks Eritrean Americans for Organizing in their Own Defense
27 Nov 2024
The Washington Post’s latest anti-Eritrea propaganda demonizes Eritrean immigrants defending themselves in the West.
Abayomi Azikiwe, Black Agenda Report Contributor
COP29 Summit Marked by Acrimonious Debate Over Emissions and Finance
27 Nov 2024
Annual climate gathering reflects divisions between the industrialized states and the Global South.
Glen Ford, BAR Executive Editor
The End of American Thanksgivings: A Cause for Universal Rejoicing
27 Nov 2024
Glen Ford wrote many powerful essays, but his unflinching analysis of the history of the holiday we call Thanksgiving endures 20 years after he wrote it.