For me, Juneteenth has always lived at the intersection of joy and sorrow. It highlights a systemized violation of human rights in our country. Throughout history, access to information has always been used as a tool of oppression, with the knowledge that it can also liberate. A modern form of institutional oppression is digital inequity.
Oh, the internet — today so many people are online almost constantly. And yet so many people in the US still have a tenuous connection to the internet. But here is the good news. The United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry, along with a huge number of allies from the civil rights and public interest communities, successfully persuaded Congress to adopt a new program. The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is a federal program designed to help low-income households pay for broadband internet service.
The Michigan High-Speed Internet Office (MIHI) announced its initial recommendations for the Realizing Opportunity with Broadband Infrastructure Networks (ROBIN) grant program, which will provide $238 million in federal funding through the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund (CPF) to support the deployment of high-speed internet to approximately 100,000 unserved locations throughout the state.
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In the past several years, our society has learned more, faster than ever before. However, the flow of information in our digital world is interrupted by serious accessibility barriers for the deaf community. Navigating the hearing world with few accommodations and limited resources—including broadband and online access to training and professional development—is holding some people back.
Governor Reynolds and the Department of Management’s Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) announced a new broadband grant opportunity for internet service providers. $148,960,000 is available through Empower Rural Iowa Broadband Grant Program with funding from the Capital Projects Fund (CPF) administered by the US Department of Treasury.
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