Al Gore has been running around the country lately wringing his hands about what he sees as a growing digital divide in America. The latest have-nots, according to Gore, are the unwired American underclass, particularly minorities.
Some people think so.
Adam Clayton Powell III is more than a bit suspicious about all this and has written a series of articles and editorials recently on the subject. If you're over forty, the name may jar memories, as it did for me. His father was New York Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr., who served from 1945 to 1970, a lonely and dangerous period for black elected officials. When Powell's father arrived in the nation's capitol to take his seat in Congress, he was faced with overt racist rules that barred blacks from using many of the capitol facilities. So, as this man's son, Adam Clayton Powell III brings more than just academic curiosity to bear on this topic.