PHOTO/PAUL WILLIAMS III

J’Tanya Adams, Charlotte regional manager of EveryoneOn, a national digital inclusinon nonprofit, and the Rev. Ralph Williamson of Clinton Chapel AME Zion Church took delivery of computers for an Internet and computer bazaar last week at the church. The machines will be given to low-income residents on Nov. 21 at Clinton Chapel as part of an initiative to make the Internet more accessible to economically-challenged communities.

Expanding the information highway is about making dollars as well as sense.

Low-income communities get an economic shot in the arm when they get access to the Internet, which paves the way for residents to go to school, shop and find work online.

“There lies the rub,” said J’Tanya Adams, Charlotte regional manager of EveryoneOn, a national nonprofit advocate for digital inclusion and leader of an initiative to get computers to low-income residents. “That’s what it’s really all about.”

Charlotte’s underserved communities are moving closer to that possibility with an Internet and computer bazaar November 21 at Clinton Chapel AME Zion Church, 1901 Rozzelles Ferry Road. Computers will be distributed to low-income residents and volunteers will teach Internet and operating system skills.
Digital divide refers to the gap between demographics and geographic regions’ access to modern information and communications technology, which includes telephone, television, personal computers and Internet.

“We’re always on the West End promoting economic development and revitalization of the neighborhood,” said Adams, who is also president of Historic West End  Partners. “If our neighborhoods change, especially those that are right around the inner city loop, if those areas progress, we’re not progressing. The city moves forward without us.”

According to EveryoneOn:

• 61 percent of the unconnected have less than a high school education

• 43 percent are at least 65 years old

• 38 percent are African Americans

• 36 percent are Latinos

• Most of the unconnected have median incomes below $33,000 a year.

Historic West End Partners have formed alliances with EveryoneOn to offer basic Internet services and Kramden Institute for desktops distribution and operating system training. Google Fellows of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library and the Urban League of the Central Carolinas will provide free computer classes. Johnson C. Smith University students and faculty volunteers are helping with asset management and recipient orientation.

Charlotte, like most U.S. cities, have been slow to link low-income communities to the Internet despite lobbying by community, civil rights and political groups. Charlotte community leaders are developing a comprehensive digital inclusion strategy to bridge the divide with input from neighborhood groups, public and private entities.

In 2010, the Alliance for Digital Equality hosted the inaugural national digital empowerment summit at JCSU to address digital disparities in in vulnerable communities.
Historically, ethnic minorities, the poor and rural residents are less likely to have access to the Internet.

Sixteen organizations, including the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, National Organization of Black County Officials, and the National Conference of Black Mayors have called for increased Internet broadband access for low-income and rural communities.

The groups filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission to lobby the panel to work towards closing the digital divide. According to documents filed by the organizations, only 46 percent of African-Americans and 40 percent of Hispanic Americans have broadband at home, as compared to 63 percent of whites.

Millions in federal funding have been invested to pave a faster information highway in North Carolina. A $16.7 million economic stimulus grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce went to CharMeck Connect, a state-of-the-art public safety communications network that includes wireless broadband, multimedia applications and enhanced voice and data interface.

Federal officials anticipated the project will bring more than 11,000 public safety users onto the network.

The CharMeck Connect grant was one of 94 Recovery Act investments in 37 states.

North Carolina received $83 million in five federal grants to extend broadband connectivity in rural areas. Proponents say the funds will create new jobs and help spur economic development through expanded Internet access.  

The bazaar is a step in providing access to everyone.

“I’m not one to not include others in growth opportunities,” Adams said.

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