Black America Needs An Emergency Broadband Benefit

31% of Black households do not have high-speed home broadband, affecting Black school-aged children and their ability to complete homework assignments at a disproportionate rate. Traditionally, there has not been a consistent focus on the improving the educational opportunities of Black children, but amid the first pandemic in over 100 years, a 13% Black unemployment rate, and no clear plan from our government on how to resolve this crisis, Black K-12 children are especially at risk of falling even further behind without access to the remote learning opportunities that broadband connectivity brings. The debate surrounding access to broadband connectivity is often framed as a “rural only” issue, even though there are more than three times as many urban households than rural households that do not have any kind of home broadband. 

The National Urban League strongly supports an Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB). An EBB would allow qualifying individuals or families to receive a monthly subsidy to purchase broadband internet from participating providers. This benefit should also be extended to those individuals who qualify for the Federal Communications Commission current eligibility requirements such as SNAP, Medicaid, and SSI recipients. And considering current unemployment rate for Black America, Congress should also extend eligibility to those who have lost their jobs as a result of the circumstances of the pandemic.

[Danielle Adrianna Davis, Esq is an Attorney and National Urban League Tech Fellow]