Bringing the Internet Home:

African American Access to
Information, Communication and Technologies

A free conference sponsored by the
California Librarians Black Caucus -- Greater Los Angeles
Featuring Keynote Speaker: U.S. Congressman Major R. Owens (NY)
Saturday, March 8, 1997
10:00 am - 4:30 pm
Los Angeles Public Library's Central Library
at 630 West Fifth Street, Downtown Los Angeles
Co-Sponsored by
American Library Association, Los Angeles Public Library, California Library Association.

CONFERENCE PROGRAM

SPONSORING ORGANIZATIONS

California Librarians Black Caucus - Greater Los Angeles
The California Librarians Black Caucus (CLBC) is a statewide organization with branches in northern and southern California. CLBC was established in 1972 to eradicate inequities facing African Americans in the library workplace; to function in the state of California as an ombudsman for African American communities regarding the provision of library and information services; to promote literature and information by and about African Americans; and to challenge libraries statewide to provide maximum access to such materials.

American Library Association
The American Library Association is the voice for America's libraries and the millions who depend on them. Its mission is to provide leadership for the development, promotion and improvement of library and information services and for the profession of librarianship, in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all. The American Library Association provides leadership and resources to promote the highest quality library and information services for all people and to protect the public's right to a free and open information society.

Los Angeles Public Library
The Los Angeles Public Library strives to inform, enrich and empower every individual in its community by creating and promoting free and easy access to a vast array of ideas and information and by supporting lifelong learning in a welcoming environment. At the heart of the Library is a growing collection of books and other information materials developed over 120 years - both current and retrospective - and a staff dedicated to assisting library users. In addition to serving its own community with a Central Library, more than 60 branches, and several bookmobiles, it is a major resource for individuals, libraries, and other organizations throughout the United States.

California Library Association
The California Library Association (CLA) actively works to develop, promote and improve libraries and librarianship in California, with over 2,200 personal members associated with academic, public, government, medical, religious and special libraries. CLA is a resource for learning about new ideas and technology and for monitoring and influencing legislation affecting libraries.

SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS

California State University Dominguez Hills Library Associates

Black Data Processing Associates, Los Angeles Chapter
Represented nationally by over 50 local chapters and 1600 members, the objective of the Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) is to support the interest of those individuals examining the field of information processing as a career or business opportunity and to provide a forum for the development of interests and skills of the minority community as a whole.

Inner City Computer Society
The Inner City Computer Society (ICCS) is a grassroots organization whose mission is to bring Los Angeles inner-city communities into the information revolution through training, education, and the use of computer technology. (310/885-5384)

Lynn Allen Jeter & Associates
Launched in 1980, this public relations and special event firm "does it all - from fund raising to weddings, bar mitzvahs to children's parties. Corporate gift buying is also one of [their] more popular services, particularly during the holiday season." Owner and president, Lynn Allen Jeter, is a former employee of Motown Records, which provided her with a wealth of professional experience and important industry contacts. Ms. Jeter's firm works extensively with the entertainment industry and the community. Their client list boasts a spectrum of personalities from all walks of life, among them Johnny Carson, Stevie Wonder, Erika Alexander, Carl Anderson, A. C. Green Foundation, NOMA, Home Savings of America, and MCA.
(213/930-2366)

Sable Systems
Sable Systems Technology provides complete World Wide Web and connectivity solutions for business. (www.sable.com, 888 / 50-SABLE)

SuccessNet
SuccessNet provides full access to the Internet, including WWW, E-mail, Usenet Newsgroups and more, and training for individuals, entrepreneurs, and business managers. (www.SuccessNet.net, 213/299-4590)

Travel arrangements by Daphne Delores of Trips Inc. (10941 Camarillo Street, N. Hollywood 91602, 818/753-4530).

Musical entertainment by West Afrikan Drumming (Samori Rock, 310/698-5822).

Gifts and prizes were provided by Black Enterprise magazine, PC Novice magazine, Sable Systems, AfroNet, and VirtuallyBlack.Com.

PURPOSE OF THIS CONFERENCE

The conference is directed to the interests of community leaders, educators, information professionals, business representatives, parents, students, and the public at large. The purpose of this conference is to explore issues relating to the Internet and African Americans.

The CLBC-GLA feels that the Internet holds promise for enhanced access to information. It has the potential of enabling an informed citizenry to exchange ideas, of increasing access to educational and other materials, and of promoting commercial ventures. This promise threatens to be obliterated by barriers such as lack of access to Internet resources, by historical issues of exclusion, and by distrust of technology among some African Americans. Recommendations and action items generated from participants will be published in the conference proceedings.

DISCUSSION ISSUES AFFECTING THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY

KEYNOTE SPEAKER Major Owens, U.S. Representative (New York)

Elected to the 98th Congress on November 2, 1982, Congressman Owens has been reelected to each succeeding Congress and is now starting his 7th term. He has distinguished himself by personally passing more legislation that any other member of New York State's Congressional delegation.

As Chair of the Subcommittee on Select Education and Civil Rights (from 1987 to 1994), he authored and guided the passage of legislation to reorganize the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI). This legislation represents the culmination of a five-year struggle to restructure the federal education research effort to emphasize bottom-up, consumer-driven decision-making which ensures that research responds to the real needs of parents and educators in the classroom. He sponsored and successfully managed the passage of legislation on child abuse and domestic violence prevention, child adoption and family services; and on disability issues, including the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act which bars discrimination against individuals with disabilities in employment and other areas of life. A senior member of the Economic and Education Opportunities Committee (formerly Education and Labor), he championed the successful passage of legislation on plant-closing notification, extended employment benefits, and the increase in the minimum wage.

He has been dubbed the "Education Congressman" by citizens in his district because of his strong national stance on education reform and his efforts to reach out and transform the concept of education. He has played a critical role in co-sponsoring legislation that would keep illegal firearms off the streets and legislation that would require a seven-day waiting period for handgun purchases, allowing local law enforcement officials to check the background of perspective buyers for a criminal record. Owens' entry into public service and politics began during the civil rights movement of the 1960s. His involvement in politics is partially a result of his work as chair of the Brooklyn Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), as Vice President of the Metropolitan Council on Housing, a city-wide tenants rights group and as the Commissioner of the New York City Community Development Agency. In 1974, Owens became the first New York State Senator elected from Brooklyn's newly created 17th Senatorial District. He remained in this position until 1982, when he was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, he was educated at Morehouse College in Atlanta, where he received a Bachelors degree in Mathematics in 1956 and Atlanta University, where he received his Masters degree in Library Science in 1957 - the first and only degree in Library Science from Atlanta University - and is the recipient of three honorary doctorates. After completing his Masters, Owens moved to Brooklyn settling in the Prospect Heights community. During this period, he held a number of specialized and supervisory positions in the Brooklyn Public Library. Over the years, Owens has stayed connected to his first profession as a librarian. He is considered a scholar and national expert on library education and information development. He has taught at Columbia University in one of the nation's top library schools, and was the much lauded speaker at the White House Conference on Libraries in 1979 and 1990.

A prolific writer, Congressman Owens has authored numerous articles and raps. The Congressman says he writes rap poetry "as an outlet for political frustrations."

He is married to Maria A. Owens of New York City. The children of their blended family are Christopher, Geoffrey, Millard, Carlos and Ceclia J.

DISCUSSION LEADERS AND WORKSHOP INSTRUCTORS

Michael Batie
Founder and President of SuccessNet. (mbatie@successnet.net, 213/299-4590)

Jene Gresham
Ms. Gresham is a second-year student in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA's Department of Library and Information Science, specializing in information policy and management. Her focus is on children's services in public libraries. She is an intern at the Hyde Park branch of the Los Angeles Public Library. She is also the Recording Secretary for the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the California Librarians Black Caucus.

Theresa House
Technology Consultant and owner of Technical Advantage (310/670-4882), Ms. House has worked within the community helping youths develop their computer skills and become Internet literate. She is a member of The National Black Engineers Association and the Los Angeles African American Women's Political Action Committee and is very active in Mu Lambda Omega, the West Los Angeles chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Black Professional Magazine featured her as one of America's Top 25 Black Engineers in its Winter 1994 Edition. She has a Master's Degree in Technology Management from Pepperdine University and has published, taught, and spoken internationally on how to use the Internet. She currently is developing BlackLABIZ (http://www.BlackLABIZ.com), an Internet service featuring a website that showcases all positive aspects of the "real" Los Angeles African American community.

Latonya Jefferson
A second-year student in Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA's Department of Library and Information Science (DLIS), Ms. Jefferson is specializing in information access to electronic and multimedia resources and user-centered design concepts. She is a student lab assistant at the DLIS Multimedia and Information Technology Laboratory.

Stacey McKeever
A second-year student in Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA's Department of Library and Information Science (DLIS), Ms. McKeever is a Lab Staff Coordinator at the DLIS Multimedia and Information Technology Laboratory.

Ted Terry
Mr. Terry is CEO and President of Theodore Myles Publishing, Inc. (310/838-7451), a company specializing in multicultural books (The American Black History Reference Manual and The Native American History Reference Manual). He is a veteran broadcaster of more than 25 years in New York (WBLS) and Los Angeles (KJLH), a producer and television talk show host, and a veteran of the Vietnam War and a Reserve Police Officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. Commended by the Points of Lights Foundation for "elevating the message of public service to its highest level," he has several Internet projects - Policenet, Afro-Centric News Network, Workforce Diversity - that follow his new mission: to get African Americans connected to the Internet.

Welford Willis
Mr. Willis has over 17 years experience as an Internet and computer trainer and consultant. He helps both small and large businesses in implementing Internet services. (bussysone@earthlink.net)

Inner City Computer Society Team:

Raymond Greene
Systems Training Analyst. (raymond@wwwbc.com)

C.D. "Kwaku" Jones
Founder and President of Talking Drum Enterprises (http://www.scbbs.com/~talkingdrum, 310/330-1751), Mr. Jones has a background in community organizing where he has managed several programs for technology resource projects. Talking Drum Enterprises, "Your Transition Road to the Information Superhighway," provides computer consulting, Internet World Wide Web site development, and Internet access and has teamed with Software Creations to host online information resources for local Asian, Latino, African American and Jewish community related electronic publications along with International Trade and Motion Picture Industry information. Web sites developed by Talking Drum Enterprises have been rated among the top 5% on the Internet.

James Liggins
Founder of the Inner City Computer Society (ICCS), Mr. Liggins is a technical consultant for computer networking. ICCS is "aimed at giving inner-city communities a platform by which they can understand and take advantage of the economic, academic, social, and political benefits of technology." (sniggil@mhs.scbbs.com)

Ron Parker
Founder and president of Software Creations (http://www.scbbs.com, http://www.nfoweb.com), an electronic publishing and online information services firm, Mr. Parker has developed and marketed software products and services. Based on his philosophy to use emerging technology to "level the playing field" and create business opportunities, Software Creations hosts Internet sites for a number of organizations and publications. Currently, Mr. Parker is building an online, multicultural, global networking, business and publishing network. His system is one of the very few fully African-American owned host domains on the Internet, serving as an online publishing platform for large documents and publications from around the globe.

Gerald Yarbrough
Los Angeles County Office of Education (yarbrough_gerald@mssmtp.lacoe.edu)

WORKSHOPS

African American Sites on the Web
An overview of sites produced and maintained for the interests of African Americans.
Instructor: Jene Gresham

Business Opportunities on the Internet
An overview of the Internet for entrepreneurs, including web sites dedicated to small business interests.
Instructor: Theresa House of Technical Advantage/BlackLABIZ!

Buying a Personal Computer
A "how-to" guide on purchasing a personal computer for home and business.
Instructor: Welford Willis of Business Systems Group

Going Online: Finding Your On-Ramp to the Information Super Highway (How to Access the Web)
A review of different methods of getting connected to the Internet, including the costs and equipment needs.
Instructor: Kwaku Jones of Talking Drum Enterprises
Instructor: Frank Kelly of Sable Systems

Introduction to the Web
A basic introduction to the Internet and to the World Wide Web.
Instructor: Michael Batie of SuccessNet
Instructor: Jene Gresham
Instructor: Latonya Jefferson
Instructor: Stacey McKeever

Practical Applications of the Internet
An overview of how the Internet can be used.
Instructor: James Liggins of Inner City Computer Society

Tips on Searching the Web
A review of "search engines" and their importance in searching the Internet.
Instructor: Gerald Yarbrough of Inner City Computer Society

CALIFORNIA LIBRARIANS BLACK CAUCUS
GREATER LOS ANGELES 
CONFERENCE PLANNING COMMITTEE MEMBERS