Political Quotes

“I rise today, as we near the end of Black History Month, to focus attention on the widening gap between those Americans who use or have access to telecommunications technologies, like computers and the Internet, and those who do not. Surprisingly, there are those naysayers who suggest that the 'digital divide' does not exist, that it is a myth or fabrication of consumer and civil rights advocates. Perhaps it is because the term 'digital divide' has been so over-used and, in some instances, mis-used that it causes some to doubt its existence. Perhaps the term has so thoroughly infiltrated our everyday discourse that it causes skeptics to under-estimate its very real and powerful consequences. No matter the reason for these naysayers' doubt, the unequivocal answer to their question 'is there really a digital divide' is a resounding 'YES.' A series of reports issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce not only confirms that the 'digital divide' exists; it suggests that, while the number of Americans accessing the Internet has grown rapidly in recent years, the technology gap between poor and minority communities, on one hand, and other Americans, on the other, is actually widening.”