OE Report: June 2009

One Economy and National Civil Rights Organizations Come Together to Address Disparities in Broadband Access and Adoption

National civil rights organizations including the National Urban League, National Council of La Raza, Asian American Justice Center, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the leading minority research and public policy think tank Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies unveiled a formal report and series of recommendations from the first Broadband Opportunity Summit (the "Summit"). One of the major recommendations from the Summit is the formation of the Broadband Opportunity Coalition.

For the first time, the nation's leading civil rights and public policy organizations will come together, with one voice, to advance broadband opportunity. The Coalition will submit a joint application for federal stimulus grant funds made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ("ARRA") to support broadband deployment, mapping, adoption and support for public computer centers.

Rey Ramsey, Chief Executive Officer of One Economy Corporation, provided more insight into what the Coalition's application might incorporate. "Our goal is to bring proven program models to local communities by, for example, training individuals at local Urban League chapters or LULAC tech centers so that our unique online content like the Public Internet Channel and youth technology service initiatives like Digital Connectors, which employs high school students to be digital ambassadors in their communities, will spread to more neighborhoods than we currently reach. In the end, the Coalition will move the meter so that more people of color are online and not in line."

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a public policy and research institution with a primary focus on issues of concern to African Americans and people of color, will be evaluating the efforts of the Coalition to ensure that underserved and unserved communities are positively impacted. To capture the diversity of Coalition members and their constituents, the Joint Center will also work in collaboration with other think tanks and experts to measure results.

"We strongly believe that those who choose not to join the online world will not make it in the 'real world,'" said Joint Center President & CEO Ralph Everett. "All students need digital access to reach their potential and digital participation in minority communities is essential."

Leaders from One Economy, the National Urban League and the National Council of La Raza released a statement on the Pew Internet & American Life Project's released annual national study on Internet usage. The results showed significant increases in broadband adoption and Internet use across every demographic but one. African Americans' use of broadband increased at a rate well below the national average for the second consecutive year. Last year, 43 percent of African Americans had broadband Internet connections at home. This year, that figure is 46 percent, an increase the Pew survey refers to as "not significant statistically."

The Beehive Launches Manages Your Diabetes 2.0

With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, One Economy created the first online health destination aimed specifically at the challenges faced by low-income, low-literacy diabetics. Manage Your Diabetes 2.0 enhances the instruction that diabetics receive from their doctors and empowers them to take control of this chronic disease by using online multimedia technologies, such as video storytelling, interactive quizzes, and polls. This bilingual tool shares practical advice in an engaging and relatable way.

Proper management of diabetes, which affects an estimated 20.8 million Americans, requires constant monitoring, an acurate understanding of healthy diet and exercise, and the ability to comprehend and use often complex medications daily. The support of family, friends, health care providers, dietitians and other wellness experts are also important aspects of managing this often chronic disease effectively.

The benefits of managing this disease are great. Diabetics can drastically reduce their risks of serious complications, like heart disease, amputation, blindness; improve their quality of life; and reduce or even eliminate their need for medications. The Manage Your Diabetes 2.0 health tool explains diabetes with reader-friendly and step-by-step health tools, basic health information, and resources that speak directly to the people who need them the most.

Manage Your Diabetes 2.0 features a variety of health and wellness tools to help diabetics manage their disease, including interactive quizzes ("How Active Are You?" and Insulin 101) and user polls.

One Economy is working around the country to let diabetics know about this valuable and free resource. On June 17th, One Economy teamed up with up with Shad Ireland, a triathlete living with kidney disease, to promote the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. One Economy showcased Manage Your Diabetes 2.0 to hundreds of community members who attended the event in Baton Rouge, LA.  One Economy will work with Shad over the summer to educate others on managing their health during his What Inspires You Tour, a 4,000-mile bicycle journey across the country.

One Economy Receives Three Telly Awards for Youth Multimedia Programming

Competing among 13,000 entries, One Economy's 247Townhall.org took home three Telly Awards. 247Townhall's original online series If I Were President won in the following categories: Charitable/Nonprofit, Social Issues, and Political/Commentary. The Telly's are the most prestigious web award for online multimedia, specifically video and animation.

The If I Were President campaign launched on July 4th, 2008. If I Were President is an interactive video series hosted on 247Townhall.org which included footage of Mos Def, Danny Glover and other A-list personalities, community leaders and everyday people describing what they would do as president. The online campaign brought celebrity appeal to One Economy's 247townhall.org, and captured the attention of a younger generation.  The campaign encouraged viewers to create their own If I Were President videos and share with friends and family. Watch If I Were President here.

One Economy Urges the FCC to Include Low-income People in the Design of a National Broadband Plan

As the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) prepares the National Broadband Plan it must submit to Congress next year as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, it has solicited thousands of comments from individuals and organizations around the country. One Economy submitted an outline of the principles that we believe should guide the plan's creation, including:

• When public funds are used to expand broadband deployment and adoption, those efforts must intentionally focus on including low-income people and creating a public good.
• Public efforts must stimulate demand for broadband--not just supply.
• The National Broadband Plan provides a
  great opportunity for underserved and unserved communities to leapfrog
  today's standards and gain access to next generation networks,
  avoiding the invested capital already present in served communities.
  
• A Broadband Progress Board should be
  created to establish concrete goals and track the plan's progress
  against access, affordability, adoption, and national priorities such
  as education, health care, employment, and public safety.
• A national Digital Emergency Network needs to
  be established to connect all peoples in the case of a man-made or
  natural emergency with an explicit focus on resources and tools for
  low-income communities.
• Civic participation and specifically those devices that
  help include low-income populations should be a priority in developing
  the National Broadband Plan and in ongoing U.S. broadband efforts.
  Townhalls, on the ground surveys, and online crowdsourcing are all
  techniques that accomplish this goal.
  

For nine years, One Economy has worked to turn the idea of a digital divide into the reality of a digital opportunity.  We're glad to be a part of this national conversation about bringing broadband to all Americans and using that technology to solve our most pressing problems. Download the executive summary of One Economy's comments here.

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