National Urban League Unveils New Framework To Bridge Digital Divide

The National Urban League unveiled the framework of a comprehensive agenda for leveraging the tools of the information economy to create a more equitable and inclusive society. The Lewis Latimer Plan for Digital Equity and Inclusion would:

• Deploy broadband networks everywhere in the country.
• Connect every household to broadband networks.
• Effectively utilize the networks to improve delivery of essential services.
• Create new opportunities for underserved communities to participate in the growth of the digital economy.

The plan was inspired by, and is offered in memory of,  Lewis Howard Latimer, a 19th-century draftsman, soldier, scientist, and researcher whose parents were born into slavery. Working with Alexander Graham Bell on the development of telephones and Thomas Edison on electric lighting, Latimer made groundbreaking contributions that changed the course of human history. The Latimer Plan would require companies that benefit from federal investment to improve access to economic opportunity, and it would direct the Department of Commerce and the Federal Communications Commission to collect information that allows the government and the public to understand and evaluate how the private sector is improving diversity, equity, and inclusion.