Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire
  • omnibus

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. »

  • Introduction
  • Story One: Offline in L.A.
  • Story Two: A Connection Changes Family’s World
  • Story Three: In Desperate Need of the Net in El Monte
  • Story Four: D.C. Kids Want Internet
  • Story Five: Left Out in the Cold in D.C.

 

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


  • Isaias Afwerki
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Isaias Afwerki: My Struggle for Eritrea and Africa
    13 Aug 2025
    Michel Collon has interviewed Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and says the world must listen to him.
  • Jon Jeter
    Black People Who See Themselves in Palestinians Find that Israel Sees the Same
    13 Aug 2025
    Israel's brutal treatment of Black solidarity activists proves the truth that resistance to settler colonialism comes with a price. For Black Americans standing with Palestine, that price has always…
  • Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    For a young labor leader leading by example
    13 Aug 2025
    "For a young labor leader leading by example" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
  • Black Alliance For Peace
    End the Colonial Occupation of Washington D.C.: The People Demand Self-Determination and Self-Governance
    13 Aug 2025
    Washington, D.C.'s political subjugation exposes America's democratic facade. While claiming to champion self-rule globally, the U.S. increases repression and lays siege on the residents of its own…
  • Matteo Capasso
    The Unraveling: America Against America in the Post-Liberal Moment
    13 Aug 2025
    Fukuyama's 'end of history' was just an excuse for empire that Wang Huning saw through back in 1991. Now, as America's broken system tears itself apart, our job isn't to save it, but to build…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us