Join MMTC, ALLvanza, OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates, and LGBT Tech on February 27, 2024, at 12 noon for an informative Capitol Hill briefing to champion the inclusion of underserved communities in all matters concerning to the Hill, and to encourage policy makers to actively listen to and incorporate the needs of our communities into their work. Click the button below to register.

The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences selected the Black Churches 4 Digital Equity Coalition's ACP National Day of Action as a winner in the 3rd Annual Anthem Awards. BC4DE Coalition received the Bronze Anthem Winner in Community Outreach and the Anthem Community Voice award. Click the button below to watch MMTC Vice President Dr. Fallon Wilson's Call to Action Anthem speech.

Black Churches 4 Digital Equity and Microsoft Collaborate to Support Black Churches as a Catalyst for Local Digital Equity Ecosystems by Ananda Leeke, MMTC Chief Social Media Officer, and Ryan Palmer, Microsoft Airband Initiative, US Director

Late Congressman John Lewis called internet access the “the civil rights issue of the 21st century.” Congressman Lewis’ words of wisdom remain true today and help to fuel the work of the Black Churches 4 Digital Equity (BC4DE) Coalition. Achieving digital equity begins with having a broadband internet connection. But it also requires internet connected devices like laptops, tablets and phones along with the digital skills people need to take full advantage of opportunities online. “Every member of our community should share in these opportunities,” says MMTC Vice President Dr. Fallon Wilson.

In collaboration with Microsoft, BC4DE members are driving impact in communities around the country, including via the BC4DE Coalition, which is now represented by 50 Black church and technology nonprofit organizations in 13 states and the District of Columbia, including Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Dr. Wilson and her team estimate that collectively the 50 Black church and tech leaders reach at least 1,000,000 people weekly, through their churches, networks, and work.

To maximize the impact of the BC4DE Coalition’s impressive reach, members have been working to increase awareness and enrolment in the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which supports affordable broadband access and devices for eligible households. This includes driving enrollment in ACP during the Affordable Connectivity Program Day of Action, with events across 15 cities in 13 states reaching 6,950 people in-person, and an estimated 100,000 by email, with ACP resources from our churches and nonprofit organizations.

CLICK THE BUTTON TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE.

CALL TO ACTION

Join MMTC and BC4De Coalition in urging Congress to ensure the continuity of funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program. Click the button below and let Congress know you support the bipartisan Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act of 2024, which provides $7 billion in funding necessary to sustain the ACP, helping it to provide indispensable services to eligible households through December 2024.

U.S. Department of Commerce and NTIA Leaders

• Hon. Ronald Brown became the first African American to serve as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce from 1993 to 1996 during the Clinton administration.
• Hon. Robert Mallett served as Deputy Secretary and later as Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce from 1997 to 2001 during the Clinton Administration.
• Hon. Don Graves is the 19th Deputy Secretary of Commerce. Prior to serving as Deputy Secretary,
• Hon. Donald Cravins served as the first-ever Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency in 2022 and 2023.
• Hon. Larry Irving served as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and Administrator of NTIA from 1993 to 1999.
• Dr. Jon Gant is the Director of the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives within the U.S. Department of Commerce’s NTIA.
• Michell Morton is the Deputy Director of Digital Equity of NTIA’s Digital Equity Act Programs
• Angela Thi Bennett is the first-ever digital equity director at NTIA. 

Join MMTC in remembering the life and legacy of former FCC Chairman Charles D. Ferris. Ferris made his peaceful transition at home on February 16, 2024, after a brief illness.

During his career, he served as general counsel and staff director of the U.S. Senate Democratic Policy Committee during the passage of the landmark 1960s Civil Rights and Voting Rights legislation.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed Ferris to serve as the Chairman of the FCC, where he served until 1981. At a pivotal point of groundbreaking innovation in American telecommunications, the Ferris Commission shaped the market and consumer environment as Americans know it today - changing the landscape of radio, broadcast, and cable television through deregulation (thus democratizing the airwaves) and laying the groundwork for the explosion of cellular technology and the Internet.

In 1981, after decades of government service, he became a named partner at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo, a Boston law firm, where he became chair of the firm’s Washington, DC office. During that time, he also served on the Cablevision board and as the inaugural vice-chair of the board of directors for the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, advancing mutual interests in U.S. and Asia relations. He retired in 2013.

Ferris is survived by his daughters, Caroline Ferris and Sabrina Ferris, and his former wife Patricia Brennan Ferris. He is also survived by his former companion Wendy Shapiro, her children, and grandchildren. His brothers, Thomas F. Ferris of Minnesota and Henry J. Ferris, Jr. of Massachusetts predeceased him in 2019 and 2021.