Taking the Initiative: The Appalachian Regional Commission
When John F. Kennedy visited Appalachia during the 1960 presidential campaign, he was shocked by what he described as “the hungry children … the old people who cannot pay their doctors bills, the families forced to give up their farms.” He vowed to do something about it. Since that famous visit by Kennedy, the Appalachian region of the United States – hard hit by the loss of mining jobs and steep population declines – has been a prime focus of public-private programs to alleviate poverty and spur economic development.
The Appalachian Regional Commission, which grew out of the “War on Poverty” programs of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, has built an impressive array of economic development programs to assist the region. Among these is the Information Age Appalachia telecommunications and information technology program, which promotes the development of telecommunications in the region.
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March 31st, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Getting more broadband to all parts of the country has to be a priority of the next Administration. We saw the importance of this in our nationwide Broadband Changed My Life! contest. Our second place winner was a college student named Stephen Wooten who grew up near Appalachia and had no interest in going to college until his family got Internet service when he was in high school. Then he said “my mind became the child sponge it once was” and he stayed in his room surfing the net for hours, ultimately realizing he was a smart guy and loved to learn. He wrote to us from his dorm room at Appalachian University, the first person in his family to go to college.
Joy Howell, MBA, MPA
Director
Broadband Changed My Life! Campaign