FROM: BC SCHOOL OF EDUCATION TO: 202 418 2807 APR 12, 1996 5:15 PM P.02
NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE, INC.
BOSTON COLLEGE
CHESTNUT HILL, MASSACHUSETTS 02167

April 11. 1996

Comments prepared for the Federal Communications Commission by:

John E. Cawthorne
Vice President of Education
The National Urban League

On behalf of the National Urban League. I am pleased to offer the views presented below on the "Information super highway" and its import to urban communities. especially those inhabited by our primary clientele--poor, African Americans.

As the FCC begins the process of drafting regulations and soliciting responses from the general public, it is crucial to recognize that market forces alone will not ensure that poor. urban communities and their schools have access to this critical technology and the wealth of information It contains. Unless we are especially diligent. we risk the danger of creating separate and unequal schools--those that can afford and thus. can prepare their children to take advantage of the new technologies and those that cannot. This occurrence would be a regression for our country and seriously imperil our ability to compete in the international arena. In addition, it would guarantee the existence of the underclass for at least another generation - requiring the use of otherwise scarce resources for retraining. reschooling. and retooling. Our society is becoming more diverse by the day; we must accept this reality and incorporate It into the allocation of opportunities to learn, work. and conduct business in our society.

We. in the Urban League movement. representing 114 affiliates in 34 states. want to guard against "electronic redlining." We want to guarantee that the private sector be charged with carrying out a public responsibility as the quid pro quo of being allowed access to the more affluent schools and communities. 'This public responsibility should guarantee that those who cannot afford the cost of accessing the "super highway" have the same opportunities as those for whom the cost is possible.

The private companies that are licensed to operate the "super highway" will have numerous opportunities to make huge profits through the marketing of services. Those same companies need to accept the responsibility for ensuring equal access for all schools and communities. Parenthetically. we believe that this seemingly selfless act. is in reality another way for companies to expand their services and profit potential-they will, after all, be tapping a resource that. electronically speaking. is uncharted territory.

In an era when equal opportunity is being besieged from all sides, it is morally reprehensible to establish structures that exacerbate the differences between the affluent and the poor; it is unconscionable to perpetuate dual school systems in this country--one mostly Caucasian, affluent, and "hooked in" and the other mostly Black or Brown, poor, and not "hooked in." In an age of deregulation. this position may not be the most popular but it does reflect the best of this country's ethos--ensuring that the children of the least financially able do not have their futures jeopardized by their communities' financial insecurities.

The National Urban League has adopted as its guiding principle. Our children = Our Destiny. We take it seriously. We are committed to ensuring that our children have the academic and social skills they will need to compete in the 21st century. Access to the "Information super highway" is a tool--a necessary tool--to help them acquire those skills.

For more information contact:
John E. Cawthorne
Vice President for Education
National Urban League
106 Campion Hall
Boston College
Chestnut Hill. MA 02146
(voice) 617-552-4265
(electronic) john.cawthome@bc.edu