Expanding Broadband in the Black Rural South

More than almost any other group, Black communities in the Black Rural South lack affordable, high-speed, quality broadband—38 percent of African Americans there report they do not have access to home internet. Expanding broadband could help reduce the deep racial and economic inequalities in education, jobs and healthcare in the region. Too often, efforts to close the digital divide conflate “rural” with “White” and “urban” with “Black.” The Joint Center's report authored by Dr. Dominique Harrison examined the unique plight of Black residents in rural counties with populations that are at least 35 percent Black (152 counties in 10 Southern states), which we refer to as the “Black Rural South," and found that:

• Affordability is a reason that Black families in the Black Rural South lack broadband.
• Lack of availability of broadband is another factor driving less access to broadband in the region. 
• Broadband access could advance education and workforce training in the Black Rural South. 
• Broadband access could create job opportunities. 
• Broadband access can help improve health. 

Dr. Harrison’s issue brief includes further research, analysis and solutions that will be detailed in her forthcoming 45-page report on this same topic, which will be released later in the summer of 2021.