The Great Recession has been hard on almost everyone, but it’s been really tough on black households, who have seen much of the economic progress of the past generation disappear.
I remember ten years ago when Blacksonville first stepped out into the War Against Poverty in the hot Summer of 2000, our executive team had a long talk about how we would structure our social cause. We addressed many issues that required attention in the urban community, but I knew that mass communications would eventually serve as the great equalizer. After weeks of deliberation, we decided to focus on content.
Our primary goal was to make critical news and resources more culturally-relevant, local, and accessible.
A decade later, we find ourselves re-adapting to the climate. The landscape is the same, but the weather has changed. Technology has grown exponentially and the current market has new demands that require new solutions. Today’s national press launched new discoveries in the Digital Divide. And we are prepared to offer new solutions!
Today, as mobile technology puts computers in our pockets, Latinos and African Americans are more likely than the general population to access the Web by cellular phones, and they use their phones more often to do more things.
But now some see a new “digital divide” emerging with Latinos and African Americans being challenged by more, not less, access to technology. It’s tough to fill out a job application on a cell phone, for example. Researchers have noticed signs of discrimination online that perpetuate divisions in the physical world. More and more, most African Americans and Latinos used accessed the Web more for entertainment than empowerment.
by Jermyn Shannon
