Andrew,
There are people who need us to act who can't read this email because they don't have internet access. The COVID crisis has shown us how essential internet access is to our economy, education, health, and advancing the movement for Black lives.
Without in-home internet access we cannot work safely from home, Black students lose access to education that could stunt their personal and professional development, we cannot pre-register for vaccination, and we are cut off from information that could save our lives.
As many as 1 in 3 Black adults do not have broadband in their home. Over 3.25 million Black kids live in homes without a high-speed internet connection.
All of this is completely unacceptable.
That's why we're coming out in strong support of Rep. Jamaal Bowman's Broadband Justice Act -- which would expand affordable broadband access to 8 million households. It does this by subsidizing broadband for families living in government-assisted housing, just as utilities like gas and electricity are subsidized today. Broadband should be treated just like public utilities.
Rep. Bowman can't make it happen alone -- he needs our help to bring our government to account.
Join the movement by becoming a co-sponsor of the Broadband Justice Act. Together, we can close the "digital divide" for Black folks. The internet is as essential as water or heat. And access to it is a racial justice issue.
The pandemic has made a bad problem even worse. Black unemployment rates are still higher than white unemployment, with Black women seeing the sharpest drop in employment rates during the pandemic. Second, Black workers are more likely to make up essential jobs -- which come with a paycheck but are frequently low-paid work.
That matters because cost is a primary reason Black families don't have high-speed home internet. How can we pay for quality internet that will allow us to search for jobs, for our kids to remote learn, to apply for vaccination appointments if we simply don't have the money for it?
We need to break this cycle. And Rep. Bowman's bill is a critical piece of the work. Treating high-speed, broadband internet the same way the government treats gas and electricity just makes sense.
With President Biden proposing a $2 trillion infrastructure plan that includes $100 billion for broadband access -- we need to make sure policies like the Broadband Justice Act are included. Add your name to become a co-sponsor of Rep. Bowman's bill. In love and solidarity,
Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation
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