Tech Policy

Joint Center President Discusses the Black Rural South with Comcast Newsmakers

Joint Center President Spencer Overton was featured on Comcast Newsmakers, where he discussed the plight of Black Americans in the rural south.

According to Spencer, “we took a look at counties in the south and really counties nationwide that 35 percent Black and also designated as a rural by the USDA, and those happen to be in 11 states in the South. We found that these areas had some of the highest unemployment, the highest poverty in the nation, and also, unsurprisingly, high rates of lack of broadband at home. 38 percent of Black households in this region lack broadband, which is almost two times as high as white households in those same areas, and almost two times as high as rural areas outside of the south here.”

Watch the interview below. View the 2021 “Affordability & Availability: Expanding Broadband in the Black Rural South” report here.