National Urban League CEO Says Infrastructure Bill and Latimer Plan Will Help Close Digital Divide

WASHINGTON, February 14, 2022 – The President of the National Urban League said the digital equity provisions in the infrastructure bill will further the advocacy group’s goal of closing the digital divide.

Delivering the keynote at an AT&T Policy Forum session on Thursday, Marc Morial told viewers that implementing NUL’s Latimer digital equity plan – named after Black American inventor, draftsman and engineer Lewis Howard Latimer and proposed in September of last year – will promote connectivity and inclusion to all families across the United States by addressing availability, adoption and access to economic opportunity that keeps communities of color behind in American society.

Referencing the recently-passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, Morial said policymakers “can’t talk about our infrastructure anymore without talking about universal access to high-quality internet. The IIJA allocates $2.75 billion for the Digital Equity Act, where funds are designed to help improve states and local governments’ digital inclusion efforts.

“Communities of color have been left out of the internet revolution,” Morial said. “With the IIJA, there are tools and resources available to begin to address that,” cautioning that there must be “careful, equitable deployment” of federal funds.

“A high-speed internet connection is an essentiality of living, working, thriving, and living in the nation today,” Morial said. “In the 21^st century, it’s similar to indoor plumbing, electricity and roadways in the 20^th century.”