Dixie’s Digital Divide

Helen Vinton knows that the fisher folk and farmers she works with in rural Louisiana need to learn how to use computers and the Internet, but they can’t afford them and have little time to learn them.

“We think the Internet could be a useful tool and we plan to train people on computers, but many of the people we work with don’t have the technology or resources yet,” says Vinton, Assistant Executive Director of the Southern Mutual Self-Help Association in New Iberia, Louisiana.

Vinton’s experience mirrors an uncomfortable regional trend. A technology chasm is growing between the South and the rest of the country.

In a 1998 study by the U.S. Department of Commerce on computer ownership and Internet use, the South landed at the bottom of the rankings. Of the bottom ten states for computer ownership, nine were in the South; for Internet use, eight were Southern.

Mississippi ranked last for both indicators while Virginia did the best in the region with a ranking of 12th for computer owners and 15th for Internet access.

The report also documents a growing race and class divide in technology use. White households are twice as likely to own a PC as African-American or Hispanic households. The unemployed and less-educated people surveyed were also less likely to own computers and use the Internet than those who were employed and educated.

“The ‘digital divide’ — the divide between those with access to new technologies and those without — is now one of America’s leading economic and civil rights issues,” says Larry Irving, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the U.S. Department of Commerce, in his introduction to the department’s report.

Access is becoming more and more significant for success in life and work, according to Irving: “Access to information resources will be increasingly critical to finding a job, contacting colleagues, taking courses, researching products, or finding public information.”

To address inequalities in access, the Commerce Department organized a Digital Divide Summit to discuss strategies for providing more computer access to underserved populations.

The inequalities are not news to most groups working in the South; the question is how to change them. Many Southern groups are trying to figure out concrete ways of doing basic computer training for themselves and the people they work with by applying for technology grants from foundations, forming technology committees, hiring staff members who know computers, and generally working to make technology a priority.

Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, a statewide group made up of 12 chapters of community volunteers who work on issues like clean water, land reform, and economic development, has initiated a “technology plan” to address the issue of access.

According to Teri Blanton, one of KFTC’s volunteer leaders, the group is looking into upgrading computer skills for its staff and committees, developing a website and doing computer trainings for their communities.

Still, there are roadblocks to moving forward. “With so many pressing and important issues to work on, it’s hard to find time for computer training,” says Blanton. “We’re still fighting for someone to have a drink of clean water come out of their faucet.”

But the benefits are worth extra effort, she says. Citizens will be able to educate themselves on any subject they want via Internet. With computer and Internet access, KFTC chapters across the state will be able to communicate quickly, exchanging information, sharing strategies, and calling for support.

“The main thing,” says Blanton, “is to make sure no one is excluded. We don’t want anyone to be left behind.”