If you would like to watch the video, click HERE.
As we are building momentum, we see Great School Voice’s call for #InternetForAll is not alone. This week, we are joined by Maurice Cook of Serve Your City DC, and Khulia Pringle, an activist who is dedicated to organizing parents through the Minnesota Parent Union. Maurice has been dedicated to his hometown of Washington D.C. and through his growing frustration witnessing systemic racism again and again, he founded and created Serve Your City. Serve Your City is a grassroots, community-led effort with multiple community partner organizations to help District residents. They provide food supplies, hygiene products, cleaning materials and most recently digital devices to help students gain access to the internet and attend school virtually. Khulia has tirelessly been advocating for an improved school system in Minnesota and more recently has been focused on the needs of internet access. She has seen over and over again how students across Minnesota are being underserved and locked out of schools because they do not have computer devices, lack adequate and reliable access to the internet, and require culturally competent support in schooling.
In today’s society, reliable access to the internet is vital. Particularly during this COVID-19 pandemic, we rely on the internet more than ever, and this pandemic is showcasing the damaging effects of our current #digitaldivide. We truly believe that the internet must be seen as a public utility and must be accessible to all. However, true #InternetForAll means more than just providing wifi hotspots throughout the country. For us to truly be connected, and this is critical for our students, we must also provide students with internet capable devices that are functional and easy to use, and provide culturally competent services to support connectivity.
Today, we learned more about what the #digitaldivide looks like in both D.C. and in Minnesota.
It is clear students do not have reliable access to the internet, thus they are effectively being locked out of the school house.
The internet must be provided to students, free of charge. Even low-cost internet is not enough. When students and families are forced to pay for the internet so they may attend public school, schools are no longer public.
If you would like to take action today, consider emailing or writing to your Congress member. To find who your Senator and Assembly Members are, click here.
If you would like to add your voice, share and sign this petition: https://www.change.org/InternetForAllKids
Highlights
What do you think? Let us know and share the video with your networks.
#InternetForAll #DigitalInclusion #DigitalDivide #AllStudentsNeedInternet
Don’t miss the next episode of “Access Denied” on our Facebook Live next Friday, September 11th, at 9AM Pacific Time/12 noon Eastern Standard Time.
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