A civil rights organization dedicated to bridging the digital divide and promoting the use of technology as a means to achieve individual and economic empowerment in low income and minority communities, announced it has opened a Florida chapter.
The Chicago-based Ministerial Alliance Against the Digital Divide said it has named the Rev. Derrick McRae president of the chapter.
“With Florida citizens still struggling in a bad economy, the time is now to act to bring substantial change to our state,” McRae said in a statement issued in Orlando announcing his appointment. “We need jobs and economic development and the tool that will help get us there is technology. By providing every man, woman and child with access to technology, we can transform Florida and our nation in ways that we never thought possible.”
The Alliance said its mission is to provide every citizen and every community in the U.S. with access to state-of-the-art technology and the knowledge to use it. The organization works through a network to promote policies that encourage the deployment and use of technology as a means to provide low income and minority communities with better access to healthcare, education and jobs.
“Technology can make our healthcare system accessible to all and more affordable to the masses,” McRae said. “It can provide every child in America with access to a quality education and allow underserved communities to empower themselves to promote economic development. And most of all, technology can create jobs in economically depressed communities through the establishment of minority small businesses that hire locally.”
The group, which claims a membership of more than 40,000, said it plans to partner with Florida policymakers at the state and local levels to advance policies that will bring technology to communities that need it most. It said it sees technology as a means for promoting civic participation.
“We encourage folks to join us in this movement so that we can bring unlimited progress to our state,” McRae said.
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